


Heart of Anxiety

by xHuolon



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 17:51:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20800520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xHuolon/pseuds/xHuolon
Summary: Serah has finally gotten married, but Lightning feels a sense of loss now that her younger sister has grown up. Can she find a way to cope with her feelings of loneliness, or will she end up shutting herself off from the people who care most?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a requested prompt (Lightning shows up to Fang's home drunk), and ended up becoming a much longer story.
> 
> I originally posted this on fanfiction back in 2013, but I'm going to be very lightly polishing all the completed chapters I have up a bit (they're old and a few things need fixing) and putting them up as well. Newer chapters will still be added whenever I have time/feel like doing them
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Lightning Farron, Fang, or anyone/anything else related to Final Fantasy XIII.

It was the day after Serah's wedding, and the weather had gone from completely sunny and cloudless, to grey and filled with torrential showers; ironically fitting, and easily matched the eldest Farron's mood of the last 20 hour period. Lightning hadn't slept the previous night, having been too busy being plagued with her thoughts that bombarded her at every turn. At some point in the night she had gotten fed up with the silence in her home, and in a last ditch effort to get her mind off things, pulled on her boots and stormed out the front door into the rainy night.

At first there was no real destination set in Lightning's mind, as she was doing all she could to keep herself from thinking. The sounds of her heavy steps on cobblestone were drowned out by the howling wind, alongside the rain pelting against her skin that stung like thin needles. Only a few others were out and about at this time of night, though all had some sort of protection from the icy cold rain. If she had been in her right mind, the soldier would have thought to grab an umbrella - or _something_ \- to provide adequate cover. Then again, getting sick was one of the last things on Lightning's mind right now, and even if she did… Well, she'd suck it up and deal with it later.

Azure hued-eyes were kept low, staring at the road as her feet pushed her further along it's length. Lightning lost track of the time easily enough, and before she knew it she found herself standing outside the doors of the _NORA_ bar. She hesitated, if only for a brief moment, and peered inside. Lebreau was there, as usual, and there were only a handful of people scattered around the various tables and booths.

A gloved hand pressed against the cold surface of the door, while her mind was reeling with what few options she had right now. Lightning didn't _want_ to be in the rain anymore; strawberry blonde strands were soaked and clung to the skin of her neck, not to mention her uniform was just as drenched if not more. But _Etro_, did a drink sound nice right now - provided it could numb away all the nagging thoughts at the back of her head. Inhaling slowly, Lightning pushed open the door and forced a tiny smile onto her face when the barmaid looked up from the glass she was cleaning.

"—_Lightning_? It's rare to see you out and about this late at night.." Lebreau stared hard, looking the soldier up and down and pursing her lips. Lightning looked like shit, but the woman wasn't sure if tonight was the night to be prodding the Farron. It wasn't hard to tell Lightning was tense, and while Lebreau wasn't sure what prompted the roseate from her home so late, she knew there was one thing she could do. "The usual, I take it?"

Lightning didn't even bother responding, and instead just nodded her head slightly as she moved to take a seat on one of the many stools in front of the bar counter. Beryl hues traced the patterns etched into it's surface, until she grew bored of that and lifted her gaze to focus on Lebreau. Busying herself in sorting through her stash of alcohol, Lebreau didn't seem to notice how the soldier had fixated her gaze onto her back. "_So_.." She spoke up, after finally finding the right bottle that was specially reserved for one Lightning Farron. It was actually the barmaid's own concoction, and one that only Lightning had seemed to enjoy oddly enough. The thing was potent though; more so than practically everything else she had to offer at the bar. "Some weather we're having, huh?" Lebreau asked, hoping to start up some sort of conversation with Lightning to ease the tension bristling in the air.

"—Yeah, tell me about it." Lightning quipped, turning her head so her gaze would land on the window a couple feet away. The glass itself seemed to vibrate against it's frame, with the wind and rain buffeting against it relentlessly.

"It's funny how fast things change around here, huh? Just yesterday everything was so nice and sunny, but now it's all bleary.. Thankfully the wedding went on without a hitch." Lebreau sighed in relief, though missing the way Lightning twitched at the sudden change of topic. Serah getting married was _not_ the thing she wanted to be reminded about, not right now. All the soldier gave in response was a soft grunt, keeping her gaze peeled to that window.

In truth she was happy for her sister, and Lightning knew there was no one better suited for her than Snow, even if his Hero complex was annoying as hell. Serah was happy, and so she was happy. Or rather, Lightning _thought_ she had been.. But as the wedding had dragged on, and even through the reception afterwards, a realization had dawned on her and at the first opportunity she could get, Lightning had snuck out and gone home. Her nose crinkled up, brows knitting together as that sensation from the other day resurfaced in her chest; the empty, hollow feeling she detested so much.

Just as she was about to get lost in her thoughts, Lebreau - thankfully, at that - placed a glass full of her special vodka mixture in front of her. Without a word, Lightning grasped it in her hands, fingers playing over the side of the glass before bringing it up to her lips; downing it in one go. The burning that seared through her throat was a welcome feeling, and the barmaid was already prepared to give her a refill the moment the now emptied glass hit the counter with a _clink_.

**##########**

Nearly two hours later, and only after having consumed enough alcohol to knock a behemoth off it's feet - probably even enough to _kill_ one - did Lightning stagger outside through the bar's entrance. Lebreau had argued with her, but had failed miserably in keeping the intoxicated Farron from leaving - or at least waiting for someone to come around to make sure she got home safely. And the moment she had turned her back from Lightning, the soldier had snatched what was left of the bottle of alcohol and showed herself out.

The storm from earlier had passed though, despite the faint rumbling of thunder still audible in the distance. As Lightning stumbled her way back down the paved road towards her home, inwardly she mused that at least she couldn't get any more soaked than she already was. Canting her head, she spit - rather sloppily at that - and brought the bottle of booze back up towards faded peach lips to down more of it's contents. A more sober Lightning would have wondered what the hell she was doing, getting drunk off her ass and wandering down the streets of New Bodhum alone. But right now nothing seemed to matter to her; it hurt too think too much, it hurt even more to be in her own home that was now empty save for her own things.

Gadot and the rest of the NORA members had come by a few days before the wedding had even taken place, and went about removing her sister's possessions so they could be moved into Snow's new house. _Etro_ how she hated that man right now, not being content until his wife was living with him and away from the only other family she had left.

Cursing his name under her breath, Lightning misstepped and nearly went falling into the road, though by some feat of sure willpower she had caught herself in time. An exasperated sigh fell from her mouth, and her gaze lifted from the cobblestone up towards the stretch of road that went through the center of town; and namely her own home.

She didn't want to be there.

Didn't _want_ to be alone.

Her head pounded with the rush of thoughts now flooding it, but there was one place - _one person_ \- she felt the need to see, drunk or not. Someone who had always been there for her, bitchy ice queen attitude and everything.

_Fang._

The pulsian's name was merely a whisper on Lightning's lip, as azure eyes glanced around for the familiar path that would take her to the outskirts of town. She had never understood why the brunette had steered clear from staying in the town itself, as most of the cocoonians had welcomed her and the rest of the pulsians with open arms. Then again, being a native of Pulse probably had something to do with her decision. It wasn't so easy to put the past behind you, especially when thousands of people had come down and invaded your home, along with wanting you and your people _dead_ only a few months before.

Stifling a half-hearted laugh at the irony of it all, Lightning finally managed to catch sight of the way leading out of town. A brief pause was used to make sure no one was coming, before crossing over to the other side of the road and turning down the dirt path.

**##########**

Leaning against the wall next to the pulsian's front door, Lightning had to stop to catch her breath from the near hike she had to take. Why the hell did Fang feel the need to live up the hill again? Etro be damned, she was lucky to even have made it this far without falling over in her drunken stupor.

Shifting a gloved hand up, the soldier mustered enough energy to knock on the wooden door while praying the woman was still up. "—_Faaaaang_.." Her companion's name was drawn out, and for good reason. Lightning _wanted_ to be heard, and let inside already as she could feel her legs would give out on her relatively soon.

Inside, emerald eyes stared at her door from where she was sitting in the kitchen, chair leaned back and everything as her gaze refused to budge from the wooden structure. Her mind had to be playing games on her, it just had to be. There was _no_ way Lightning of all people would be knocking on her door at nearly two in the morning. The huntress strained her ears to listen more carefully, and not even a moment later more knocking rocked the door's foundation. "—_Fang_! Let me in, damn it." A silence fell then, before shuffling could be heard followed by a loud sigh. "…It's cold out here."

Fang shoved herself away from the table and out of her seat, and slowly walked over to the door. Pulling it open, she peered out into the darkness. At first she couldn't even see anyone, and nearly turned around to go back inside when the pink of Lightning's hair caught her attention. Fang raised a brow at the sight; _the_ Lightning Farron, back shoved up against the front of her house with legs folded and held up against her chest. Well, at least she wasn't lying about being cold. The pulsian could tell from the few droplets of water they fell from her sleeves, that the soldier's entire outfit was sopping wet.

"Light? The _hell_ are you doin' out here at this time of night?" Fang questioned, kneeling down so she could be eye level with the roseate. "—I don't… just… Can I come inside?" Lightning struggled with making her words as unslurred as possible, not wanting to look weak in front of Fang of all people. Jade hues studied the soldier for a minute, trying to figure out why Lightning was acting so funny. She couldn't just _leave_ her outside all night though, so with a soft sigh did Fang help her friend onto her feet. She was a hell of a lot heavier than she looked, or was it just the added weight of the water that bogged her down? Fang didn't know, and didn't care. Hoisting Lightning up a bit more, she felt the soldier's arm snake around her neck to keep her steady against her. "C'mon.. Let's get you inside before I change my mind."

She sure as _hell_ didn't know what to think of this situation, but before her mind could wander any farther, a loud clacking of a bottle hitting the ground caught her attention. Fang thought about reaching down and inspecting it, but with Lightning whining about being wet and cold in her ear she decided against it for now. "—Watch your step, Sunshine." She mumbled, while leading Lightning inside and towards the couch in the front room. The soldier eagerly sunk into the cushions once there, and didn't look like she'd get up for anything on Pulse.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Fang took a deep breath before leaving Lightning's side and disappearing down the hall. Letting her stay in those wet clothes would be the worst mistake she could make, and while she didn't have regular cocoonian pajamas like everyone else seemed to have… Fang did have a pair of extra knee-length black shorts, and a plain white shirt. She brought them out from the confines of her room, and returned to the soldier's side at the sofa. Staring down at Lightning, Fang couldn't help but frown. "Here, Light. Get out of those wet clothes, before you catch your death from a cold, or worse." Her tone was stern, but oddly Lightning didn't resist when she was handed the bundle of clothing.

Turning her back from her friend, Fang made her way back outside and bent over to pick up the discarded bottle. It was just an ordinary bottle, and she assumed it was from Lebreau's bar, just because she was one of the only people with a supply as large as hers. But what really caught Fang's attention was the label pasted onto the side, with the barmaid's handwriting scribbled neatly on it. Glancing over the note with ease, it took a moment for the details to actually sink in and register in her mind.

Fang's face went pale, and the only thing she felt now was complete and utter shock at what Lightning had been consuming. _Fucking hell_, by all means the soldier _should_ have been passed out somewhere a long time ago, or even _dead_ depending on how much of the stuff she had drank by herself. Fang was going to kill Lebreau, or at least maim her for this later once she saw to Lightning getting better. The bottle was tossed back to the ground, and the door of her home practically slammed in her annoyance that Lightning - _Lightning_ of all people possible - had drank herself into this state. But what the hell had caused it?

Jade eyes narrowed as she looked towards her couch, where the already changed Lightning was having a hard time sitting up straight where she sat. Moving over and flopping on the piece of furniture with her, Fang leaned into the sofa's opposite side and stared hard at Lightning.

"Light?"

"Fang, no, I don—"

"What in Etro's name were you doin', huh? Drinkin' all _that_.. Hell, I'm surprised you're even able to talk at all." Fang cut her off with a huff, though inwardly she couldn't help but wonder why she was attracted to this woman. Her thoughts turned to their days working together as a team when she had first joined the Guardian Corps, and all the times she had stopped just to look at Lightning and realized what a damned good fighter she was. Strong, quick on her feet, witty, and had a piercing gaze that never failed to turn her into a blus— oh, _right_. _That_ was why. Out of everything she adored about this woman, her eyes were what stood out the most to Fang. Just a passing glance, a moment of eye contact, was all it took to send chills down her spine. And yet right now, the fierce proudness that once shone behind sapphire eyes was no longer there. She had never seen Lightning like this before, and frankly hoped it would be the first _and_ last time.

"Talk to me, Light." Fang paused, reaching out to gently squeeze Lightning's shoulder. "I know you came here for a reason, otherwise yyou wouldn't be soaked to the bone, and drunk on top of that."

"Serah… She's_ gone_." Lightning barely managed to whisper. Fang raised a brow, a little confused as to what the woman was getting at. "Uh, yeah? She _did_ just get married to the big guy yesterday.." Her voice trailed off, noticing how the soldier's skin was trembling. "Ligh—"

The Farron cut her off this time, her head turning with blue orbs meeting Fang's own pair of green eyes. "The _wedding_, Fang." The pulsian was a little taken back by the tone of her voice, and just went quiet so Lightning could speak her mind.

"Yesterday… It was so beautiful. Serah looked so happy walking down the aisle to Snow… Not sure I've ever seen her smile that way either." Lightning spoke softly, her lips twitching upwards by a margin into a faint smile. "I know Snow will take care of her, there's no question in my mind about that, but.." She fell silent, searching for the right words to convey her feelings to the brunette next to her. "—It _hurts_, Fang.. _So much_."

"What does?" Fang asked, blinking a few times and not understanding why the biggest day of her sister's life was bothering her so much.

"She's grown up… Serah doesn't need her big sister anymore, now that she's married to Snow. At first it didn't bother me… But during the reception? When Snow made that whole big speech over _always_ being at her side; protecting her, being her rock to lean on when things got tough.. All of that. It hit me, _hard_… The job of looking over Serah has passed onto Snow - _away from me_ \- and now that it has… I don't have anything left." Lightning's gaze dropped to her hands, which were fumbling together in her lap.

"—My duty was always to Serah; keeping her safe, and watching over her in our parents place.. But now that's it not, I'm at a loss for what to do. I know I should find something to fill that gap -_ anything_ to fill it - but I don't where to start looking… How can you so easily replace something you've held onto for all these years? What do I have left, Fang? Other than this empty feeling inside me?"

Lightning finally looked back up towards Fang, and the pulsian was anything but prepared to meet that tear-stained face. "Light.. C'mere.." She murmured, gently pulling the roseate towards her and embracing her. "You still have lots of things, Sunshine. Even if Serah is busy with her own new life, there's still Hope, the old man, and Vanille… You know they care about you, Lightning. And..—" Fang bit at her lower lip, unsure of how Lightning would take her next choice of words. "—…You still have _me,_ too." Etro knew Fang wanted to say more, to throw everything she felt out there and hope it would somehow ease the hurt Lightning was feeling. But she cursed at every possible deity she knew off, because right now just wasn't the time for that.

She exhaled slowly, but gradually leaned more into the huntress' side. Lightning was at a loss for words, simply put. Of course she knew she still had her friends, but even in knowing that it didn't lessen the loneliness she felt gnawing at her core. She wanted something more. Something to fully replace what was gone.. If her sister could get a happily ever after, then wasn't she allowed to have one as well?

Losing herself to her thoughts, Lightning's alcohol ridden mind didn't have the chance to process the fact her body was fully pressed into Fang's now. The warmth radiating off the pulsian was intoxicating in it's own way, and her body reacted instantly as the coldness was washed away. Eventually the closeness she now shared with her comrade clicked somewhere in the back of her mind, and she shifted slightly. Eyes closed, and Lightning leaned forward to nuzzle her face into the crook of Fang's neck, finding an odd sort of comfort from being in contact with her.

In a sort of daze from what was happening, Fang remained stiff against the soldier's form - not sure on the right course of action. She couldn't deny how nice Lightning's breath felt against the exposed skin, even if it was laced heavily with the scent of alcohol and made her nose scrunch up. Fang's body eventually went slack, giving in and relaxing as Lightning's weight pushed into her side.

Seconds passed, turning into minutes, and eventually it felt like an eternity had passed before Lightning finally broke the silence. "—_Fang_?" The pulsian twitched, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she tried to contain herself. _Sweet merciful Etro, don't say my name like that again.. This is too much. The hell am I supposed to do?_ Fang opened her mouth to speak, though was vaguely aware of how dry it had become. She swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of her throat, and looked down at Lightning from the corners of her eyes. "Yeah..?" She barely managed to choke out that single word, feeling uncharacteristically nervous for the first time that night.

Lightning didn't budge, and if anything seemed to press her face more into Fang's neck. "…Did you mean that? What you said earlier… About having you, I mean." Instinctively Fang started to nuzzle into the strawberry-blond locks atop Lightning's head, telling her over and over again quietly that she had meant every word she had said and more.

At that, the soldier abruptly pulled herself away from Fang; the cold rush of air being more than uncomfortable for the both of them. The pulsian's expression shifted to one of disappointment, but that was before she felt the soft padding of fingertips playing over her cheek. Confused, but more stunned than anything else, Fang could only sit there as Lightning leaned back in with an odd glint of intent shining in azure pools.

So maybe Fang could admit to Lightning's attempt at what she called a kiss - as sloppy as it was, could it even be considered one? - was endearing in of itself. She had tried, and quite clumsily missed her lips, her own connecting with Fang's jaw instead. The soldier seemed to be put off by her failure, and attempted to withdraw in embarrassment. Fang caught her by the scruff of her shirt and pulled her back in, pressing her lips right into Lightning's with no hesitation. Etro be _damned_ if this came back later and kicked her in the ass, but Lightning had just tried to _kiss_ her on her _own_ terms - despite the obvious alcohol coursing through her veins. There was no way Fang would skip out on this chance, and was she grateful the woman came back in and returned her affections as best she could.

Even as the kiss heated up, and hands were lost in each other's hair, Fang knew there was no way she'd let it get any farther than this. But hell, this was the last thing she thought possible; being so close and intimate with the woman of her dreams, and not having to fear for her life. At least for now, anyway.

Fang broke the contact reluctantly moments later, inhaling sharply to replenish her lungs with air they desperately needed. Her gaze was met by Lightning, who's expression was the equivalent of her own; _content_. The pulsian lips twitched into a smile, which was returned as the roseate fumbled slightly in attempt to nuzzle back up against Fang. A tanned arm wrapped itself around Lightning's waist, keeping her close so she wouldn't fall off the couch in her inebriated state while Fang rolled partially so the Farron could lay comfortably on top of her.

A sigh fell from between parted peach lips; probably the happiest sound had heard all night from Lightning since she had gotten there. "—Feelin' better?" Fang asked, though a little doubtful one kiss could shove all the pain Lightning had felt away so easily. She felt warmth brush over her cheek though, and another small kiss planted there before the soldier buried her head back into the side of Fang's neck.

"_Mn_.." It wasn't much of a response, seeing as how Lightning was starting to doze off. The warmth Fang shared with her had been needed, and the added affection a bonus that had her insides fluttering around like crazy - or was that the booze? Letting out a small huff, she breathed in the pulsian's scent once more. Oh yeah, there was _no_ way it was just the booze.. And Lightning preferred it that way, while letting out a yawn.

At some point, Fang wasn't even sure anymore, the soft rise and fall of Lightning's chest indicated she had finally succumbed to a deep slumber. She ran a hand down her companion's back, gently rubbing it in an affectionate gesture. There was no way she was going to sleep now; the feelings this woman stirred in Fang were ridiculous, and attempting sleep would be useless from how she felt.

Still, her mind wandered back to that discarded bottle. Lebreau was still going to get a lecture, one hell of one if she had any say about it. Letting Lightning drink vodka until she was smashed was one thing, but mixing in behemoth blood into it? Fang was going to end up needing to be restrained, for the need to slap some sense into that woman was strong. But despite this, she felt a little indebted to the bartender as well… If it hadn't been for her damned concoction, Lightning most likely wouldn't have ended up at her house that night, or crossing over the friend boundary with Fang so willingly.

Not much she could do about it now. Though Fang was _fairly_ sure she'd get punched in the morning, depending on how bad of a hangover Lightning had when she woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

The faint chirping of native pulsian birds filled the air, as was usual for a morning on Gran Pulse. Though if it weren't for the streaks of sunlight peeking in through the window, Lightning probably wouldn't have woken up until much later in the day.

Stirring from her slumber, the soldier let out a groan as she slowly popped open an eye, only to be blinded from the light hitting her face. Lightning let out a huff, quickly turning her head the other way in an attempt to go back to sleep. Nuzzling her face further into the warm blanket, she tried to forget the rapid throbbing of her head that just wouldn't cease. _Etro_, it felt like a long gui had stepped on her head; it hurt _that_ bad. The warmth was nice though; which had her whole body humming pleasantly in it's hold.

Pressing her face more into the odd texture of her blanket, Lightning tried using the warmth coming off it to push all the pain hitting her senses away, at least for a little while longer. It slowly started to dawn on her though, just how strange and warm her blanket was. Using what little energy she could muster, Lightning slid a hand up from where it was tangled in silky fabric and ran her fingertips over the area next to her head.

The surface was smooth and warm, nothing akin to the material her hand had been curled into a moment before. Trailing the tips of her fingers down a bit more, they ran over a spot that felt firmer to the touch. Lightning pressed against it, brows furrowing together when the spot didn't go away, and resisted the pressure applied to it.

Cracking a solitary azure eye open, she blinked a few times until everything came into focus. What met her gaze wasn't a blanket at all.. but rather the exposed tanned skin that covered Fang's chest-bone?

Lightning's mind came screeching to a halt.

Snapping her other blue eye open, she lifted the upper half of her body and stared down at the sleeping pulsian under her. The soldier's mind was reeling, and a look of pure confusion etched itself onto her face. What the hell had happened last night? And why was she laying on top of _Fang_ of all people?

The more Lightning tried recalling the events of the night before, the more a sharp pain at the back of her head assaulted her, keeping her from grasping at the memories. She grabbed the side of her head with her hand, screwing her eyes shut and willing the pain to recede. A few agonizing moments later it had subsided enough to where she let out a tiny sigh, prying her eyes open once more to glance around the living room they were in.

It was rare for Lightning to visit Fang at her own home; only having been there maybe two or three times in the past. But nothing seemed out of place from what she could recall, though her gaze was immediately pulled towards the floor and table next to the sofa they lay on.

Lightning's eyes widened a margin, taking in the sight of her discarded Guardian Corps uniform that was strewn over the coffee table, with a few articles sprawled out over the carpet nearby as well. She didn't need more motive to peer down at the outfit she was wearing, and go completely stiff.

Her clothes had been discarded at some point in the night, and she was wearing what she could only assume was something belonging to Fang.

But how had she gotten into them to begin with? Surely Fang hadn't...

Lightning refused to even finish that thought, as a scowl appeared on her face. Leaning back over the huntress, sapphire eyes studied the woman who was fast asleep. Seeing Fang asleep, up close and personal like this was odd. However, Lightning had to admit she looked peaceful; the way her tousled chocolate locks framed her face, and how her skin seemed to glow in the light pouring in from outside. Fang was fucking gorgeous, simply put.

It was no wonder why Fang had people chasing after her on a daily basis, wanting to bask in her beauty and proud aura. Hell, the pulsian got more than enough men wanting to date her, never mind all the woman swooning shyly in the background.

And yet here she was, _the_ Lightning Farron, laying atop the most wanted female in all of New Bodhum. Though she was more concerned on _how_ she had gotten there to begin with, than how many would just kill to be in her shoes right now.

Lightning crinkled her nose at that last thought, and mentally slapped herself to keep from lingering on such trivial things.

"—Fang?" She grabbed a fistful of the brunette's tank-top, and gave her a few gentle shakes in attempt to stir her from sleep. Lightning's lips twitched in agitation, turning into a frown as she tried shaking Fang even more. All she got in response was a bit of soft mumbling, and the pulsian's head rolling a margin to the side to nuzzle further into the sofa's cushioning.

Grumbling loudly now, she grabbed the pulsian by the shoulders and shook them violently. "—_Fang_!" Lightning was getting pissed now. How the hell could this moron keep on sleeping like this? She had heard stories from Vanille though, countless times in fact, of how when Fang is extremely out of it that she's harder to wake than a bull behemoth.

Vanille _hadn't_ been kidding, much to Lightning's surprise.

Well, if constantly shaking her wasn't going to wake the huntress up.. Lightning knew of _one_ other way that would be effective. She released her hold on the woman's top, and leaned over even more until her cheek was pressed against Fang's, and lips brushed against her ear.

"Fang.." Lightning spoke up softly at first, before her eyes narrowed dangerously while inhaling sharply. "_**WAKE UP!**_"

The pulsian's eyes snapped open, and her body jolted forward from being startled awake from the yelling. Lightning got knocked backwards off of Fang, and fell onto the other side of the couch with a yelp. "—Hey! Watch it." She hissed at the brunette, and rubbed at her aching head.

Fang on the other hand was struggling to catch her breath, and her right hand came up to grasp at the spot over her pounding heart. Emerald eyes were still glazed over from the lingering effects of sleep, so it took a few seconds for her to focus on everything around her. Her other hand came up and ran through her hair, slicking it back as she tried to calm down and realize what was going on.

She let out a groan, still feeling her ears ringing from Lightning yelling into them. The hell was her problem anyway? Fang shot the soldier a nasty look then, none too pleased about the rude awakening. "_Bloody hell_, Light! What the hell did you go and do that for?!"

Lightning didn't even bother answering Fang's question, and instead pointed an accusing finger at the pieces of her uniform that littered the room. She was more than upset, as was apparent by how she glared at the pulsian, but the anger stemmed more from not remembering a damn thing.

Sage hues followed to where Lightning pointed, and Fang could only stare blankly at the discarded outfit. Her gaze flickered from the clothes, to the soldier, and back again while the wheels of her mind turned. What exactly did Lightning want her to do with her uniform? She didn't understand what the roseate was trying to communicate, so she looked but up at the woman and stared, confusion written on her face.

Lightning raised a brow at the look she was being given, but didn't relent in her glaring. "—Care to explain what the fuck I'm doing sitting here in_ your_ clothes, while _mine_ are all over the damn room?"

Fang could only sit there and gawk at her. Did she honestly not remember trudging around in a storm, and venturing out of the city just to come there? "You," The pulsian halted a moment to clear her throat, suddenly unnerved by the situation. "..Don't remember?"

"No. I don't." Lightning growled, fingers digging into the palm of her hand as she balled it up into a fist.

Fang shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, and eventually stood up to step around the low table. She bent over and started pulling the damp articles up, and not moving to meet the gaze that was practically burning a hole into her side.

Offering Lightning back her collected uniform, Fang finally settled on staring back into those sapphire eyes. How was she supposed to explain what happened last night, to where the soldier would _actually_ believe her? It's not every day Lightning gets drunk, especially to that extent. Sighing, Fang took a few seconds to pick out her words carefully.

"Well... It was stormin' last night for starters." Fang motioned towards the wet clothes Lightning was holding tightly against her chest, as if she was afraid to lose them again. "Explains why your outfit is pretty wet. But anyway, not sure what you had been doin' before you got here... I do know though, that you _had_ been drinkin' a lot at some point, and that's how you ended up outside my house, whinin' like a five year old about bein' cold."

A hand was lifted to her face, and fingers lightly scratched at her cheek while letting the first part sink in. Fang wasn't sure what was going through Lightning's mind at the moment, but if her eyes were any indication, she better finish talking quickly.

"Uh, anyway... You banged on my door, demandin' I let you in, which I did obviously.. Let you get comfy on the sofa while I got you some clean clothes, and then you changed." Lightning's glare turned murderous at that, and Fang gulped audibly. "I didn't see anythin' though, I swear! I stepped outside while you put the dry ones on!" She added hastily, though thankfully the roseate seemed to settle down after hearing that. "Not.. Much happened after that. You fell asleep a bit later, and that's it."

Fang hesitated at sharing one important little detail, seeing as how she wasn't sure how Lightning would take to them having kissed and cuddling on top of that. Unsure of what else to say that could ease her friend out of her anger, she just stood there and waited for some sort of reaction.

Lightning peered up at the pulsian, eyes still narrowed at the explanation given to her, but didn't say anything. While it was true the day before had called for a nasty storm to sweep through the area, she couldn't even remember it happening. But it _would_ account for her clothes being wet, so for that she figured there was some bit of truth.

However, she _had_ noticed a slight moment of hesitation on Fang's part. If it hadn't been for the obvious signs from her body language, Lightning would have actually believed her. But Fang was hiding something, she could tell that much.

"You're lying." Lightning stated in a flat tone, irritation more than clear in her voice.

"What? No I'm not! Lightning, that's really what happened!" Fang huffed.

"I can tell you're hiding something, Fang. Tell me what it is, or_ else_." Lightning growled, her anger rising once again.

Fang sighed, knowing things were going to get nowhere if she didn't fess up to the kiss. "Fine, fine.. I'll tell you, geez." She grumbled, and looked Lightning in the eyes. "We... May have kinda.. _Kissed_. But that's it, I swear!"

An icy shiver ran down Lightning's spine at the confession, but it did little to relieve the soldier of her bubbling rage. Why did it seem like there was more to it than that? Or what if Fang was using that as an excuse to cover up something else that had happened last night? The roseate's thoughts went into a downhill spiral from there with all the possibilities.

The huntress stood there, slowly getting creeped out by Lightning's silence. Leaning over slightly, Fang tilted her head as she waved a hand in the woman's face. "Lightnin—"

_Crack!_

Fang staggered backwards, barely managing to stay on her feet as her left hand grabbed at her eye. The side of her face, and more importantly her left eye, were screaming bloody murder at where Lightning had just punched her clean in the face.

While the brunette was too busy nursing her injured eye, Lightning had promptly grabbed her things and headed for the front door. Fang hissed angrily at being hit, and lifted her head to glare at the soldier who was hovering in the now open door. "The fuck did you do _that_ for?" She snarled.

Lightning didn't even answer her, and slammed the wooden fixture behind her as she left. Fang stood there in disbelief, right before yelling one last time. "Fine be that way! You don't need to be such a bitch either. Next time, see if I care enough to let you into _my_ house!"

She knew Lightning was long gone already, but it felt good to at least get some of that anger off her chest. It didn't help the sense of loss she felt though. Her stomach knotted up, and it honestly seemed like her heart had sunk into her gut. Whatever chance she ever would have had with Lightning, just walked out the door with the woman.

In an attempt to keep herself from wallowing in her new found sorrow, Fang carefully moved her hand away from her injury. Fingertips gently brushed against her cheekbone, and the pain that jolted throughout her face made Fang wince.

She had a migraine the size of an adamantoise, and was definitely going to have a black eye to match it soon enough.

Fang stumbled back over to the couch, and fell back into it's soft cushioning. She laid there for a few minutes, reliving what had just occurred in her mind; playing it over and over again. Finally, Fang sat up and reached towards the coffee table with her free hand to grab her phone. It was flipped open, and she went about pressing the buttons on it's surface before clicking the call button.

It rang. Once. Twice. And right as it was about to ring once more, a bit of static and ruffling could be heard before a familiar chipper voice spoke from the other end.

[_Heya Fang!_]

The younger pulsian seemed happy enough, which was good in all accounts. But right now Fang needed someone, and that person _had_ to be Vanille.

"Hey, 'Nille... Hope I'm not botherin' you right now.."

[_Bothering me? Of course not, silly! I always have time for my big sister, you know?_]

Fang couldn't help but smirk at that. Vanille always knew how to make her smile, even when she wanted to do anything _but_ that. "That's good... If it's not too much trouble, do you think it's possible for you to come over right now?"

[_Right now? Sure! Lemme just get dressed, and I'll be over there in two shakes!_]

"Thanks, Van." Fang breathed a little easier, and after hanging up with the red head, went back to reclining on the sofa. It was silent in her home, save for her ragged breathing every time a tiny spark of pain made her twitch involuntarily.

Perhaps telling Lightning the truth straight out would have been better. But then again, she would have more than likely still gotten punched. Fang crinkled her nose a bit, cursing Lady Luck for not having her back with what happened. Why did Lightning even feel the need to punch her anyway? There had been no need for it, considering it had only been a damned _kiss_. Given just who she had been dealing with though, Fang realized it could have gone much worse.

Much worse.

Like, a gunblade wound instead of a black eye, for instance.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Storming through the crowds out and about on the streets of New Bodhum, Lightning kept to herself and growled under her breath more; cursing the pulsian for all she was worth.

While she could accept part of the woman's story; mostly revolving around her drenched uniform, and having been given fresh clothes. When it came to Fang saying they had kissed, that's where Lightning drew the line.

There was no way she had done such a thing with Fang. Nor would she willingly with her, or any other female in existence.

Or at least she was sure.

To be honest the thought had never crossed her mind until now. Love and relationships were foreign to her, and the only kind she had ever touched on was the strictly platonic bond she shared with Serah.

Lightning had never dated anyone either, and to be fair she wasn't even sure what her orientation was. Not that she ever had time to wonder about it, since raising and watching over her younger sister had been her priority ever since their parents had died. Right next to her many hours with the Guardian Corps.. It didn't leave her much time to dwell on such things.

Images flashed in her mind of Fang just then, and what actually kissing her _might_ be like. Lightning found herself standing outside the walkway to her home, envisioning the brunette leaning towards her, grinning like the beautiful idiot she was while holding onto her tightly. Her heart started thrashing against her ribcage, while the image of those luscious lips pressed against hers settled into her mind, and stayed there.

Immediately she could feel her face burning, and screwing her eyes shut was all she could do to force that picture from her mind.

_What if she had been telling the truth...?_

Lightning shook her head violently at that single thought, and scowled. Fang must have been drunk too, that or either she had imagined the whole thing. If they _had_ actually kissed, wouldn't she have remembered something important like that?

Yet again her mind assaulted her with doubt. What if Fang really had been telling the truth? She had just punched the brunette in the face, not even willing to talk further on what possibly had happened last night. Not to mention slamming Fang's door in a fit of rage, and fleeing the property.

Lightning's expression faltered, as her mind rewound and went over everything that had happened at Fang's home.

_Am I really that horrible of a person..?_

Letting out a drawn out sigh, as she could feel her shoulders slump under the weight of the guilt she was now feeling. She was going to have to apologize to Fang sooner or later, that much was clear.

But as she finally resumed walking, and headed for the door to her own home, she made a mental note to try and keep distance between her and Fang for now.

If she had been telling the truth, and they had kissed... Lightning wasn't sure she could trust herself to be alone with Fang, not for a long time.

Plus, she was sure their friendship had been compromised after punching her on a whim.

She _really_ needed to think things over while she had the chance.


	3. Chapter 3

Faint knocking at the front door caused Fang to stir where she lay on the couch, letting out a small groan as she pushed herself upright. Her head was still throbbing horribly, and the continued pounding on her door wasn't helping in the slightest.

"—Hold your damn chocobos, I'm comin' already!" Fang yelled at the person outside, while pulling herself to her feet. Padding over to the door quietly, she reached for the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled it opened to reveal the bubbly young Vanille standing there eagerly.

Without so much as a word, the younger pulsian lunged at Fang and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, huh? You shouldn't be so grumpy, Fang!" Vanille said in a cheery tone, before giving her sister one last affectionate squeeze.

Upon retracting herself, light sage eyes widened when Vanille took note of the damage done to Fang's face.

"_F—Fang_? What happened to your face!?" Vanille squeaked loudly in pure shock, reaching a hand up towards the older woman's face, though hesitating when Fang seemed to glare at it. She stood there, rooted to her spot until finally the huntress let out a sigh and gave her a tiny nod - letting her know it was okay to inspect the injury.

The soft pads of the red head's finger lightly touched Fang's cheek bone, where a mottling of yellow, red and faint purple were already covering the area and creeping further down that tanned cheek. "Oh Fang... This is simply awful!" Vanille felt the stinging of tears in the corners of her eyes, as she further explored around the bruising.

Fang twitched slightly from a tiny spark of pain, when the younger woman brushed against the underside of her eyelid. Her eye was swollen shut, a nasty shade of darkened purple, and hurt more than any cut or scrape she could ever recall getting in her life.

Lightning's right hook was _truly_ a devastating force, and it left Fang wondering how the hell Snow dealt with being jabbed in the jaw all the time.

Once Vanille had pulled her hand away, Fang just huffed and leaned against the frame of the door. Her single good jade eye staring down into the girl's younger hues, while her lips pursed into a thin line. "—I got punched in the face." That was the only explanation offered, before she took a step back and motioned for her companion to come inside.

Vanille took a few steps into the familiar home, before spinning on her heels and staring intensely at Fang. "Punched?" She repeated, as if the notion of the huntress being hit was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "By who?"

Fang nudged the door closed behind her with an elbow, and raised her good brow at how serious Vanille had become. There was no real point in trying to lie who had done it, since it would be obviously sooner or later. "Lightning. She's the one who hit me." The brunette sighed in an exasperated manner, and pushed past Vanille to get back to the sofa.

"Why would she do that though?" Pondering the question out loud, though mostly to herself, Vanille curiously watched her sister pulsian sink into the cushioning of the couch." Moving over after her partner, she flopped down next to Fang and resumed staring at her, as if waiting for the explanation she knew was coming.

Peering over to her side, Fang inwardly groaned at the face Vanille was giving her. She really _did_ expect the details, and there was no way around it now either. "Lightning, she.." Shifting around in her corner some, she twisted her body around to face her friend. ".. Mighta been out drinkin' last night. Now, don't ask me how much, cause I really don't know. But when I dragged her whiny butt inside, a bottle from the _NORA_ bar dropped outta her hand.."

A small grin found it's way onto her face, as she watched Vanille's eyes slowly start to widen at the realization. Fang could see the wheels turning in the younger girl's mind, but before she could ask any questions, went back to finishing her story.

"Anyway.. Long story short; I gave her some fresh clothes, since hers were drippin' from the storm, and then prodded her about why she was even outside my home in the middle of the night." Fang's voice trailed off, favoring getting lost in her memories for a split moment. Recalling just how hurt and lonely Lightning had sounded pulled at her heartstrings, and it was even weirder for Fang since she had _never_ seen the strong-willed woman so vulnerable before.

"She kept goin' on about the weddin', you know? Bout how she felt like she was losin' the lil Farron, and how Serah didn't need her much anymore." Fang rolled her shoulders in a shrug, before tilting her head at Vanille. "Light was pretty upset by it all, but then.." The huntress sheepishly scratched at her good cheek, failing to hide the slight grin appearing on her face. "One thing kinda led to another, and before I knew it.. She was leanin' into me, and even tried to _kiss_ me."

Vanille blinked a few times slowly, letting that bit of information sink in. Lightning had actually tried to kiss Fang, and even with alcohol that was saying a lot. Her nose scrunched up a bit, wondering on the way she had worded her thoughts. "So... She tried to? But... Didn't? Or what? C'mon Fang, you need to give me more details than that!" Vanille pouted, jutting her lower lip out and giving her sister the biggest puppy dog face she could muster.

Fang rolled her good eye at the display. "Fine, fine.. Quit with the act, missy." She laughed a bit, while giving Vanille a playful shove. "Sunshine got a lil frustrated, cause she actually missed, I mean you know bein' drunk and all I can see why. But I may have.. Pulled her in and kissed her myself."

The resulting squeal from Vanille nearly made Fang go deaf in one ear, and the only thing she could do to keep her from continuing was to slap a hand over the girl's mouth. "Knock it off, 'Nille. My head is killin' me.. Don't need you screechin' in my ear like that." She growled softly, and waited until she got a small nod of understanding before removing her hand.

Her sister pulsian wiggled around in her seat excitedly, mossy green eyes shining with glee - though remaining as quiet as she could be because Fang was still glowering at her. The brunette let out a long sigh, reaching a hand up to rub at the side of her head. Now came the part she honestly didn't feel like talking about.

"Lightning doesn't remember." There, she had said it, and the look Vanille gave her screamed a dozen different things at once. Fang could have sworn it felt like she had just kicked a puppy, given how fast her sister's excitement died out from three simple words.

"She doesn't remember.. huh?" Vanille repeated, still sounding more shocked than anything. "So _that's_ why she punched you then?" She voiced her inner most thoughts, looking for a bit of confirmation.

Fang just nodded at her, and leaned her head back so it could rest over the edge of the couch's arm. "Yeah.. When she woke up this mornin', and after scarin' me shitless to wake me up on top of that, she demanded to know what happened. So I told her." She then pointed a finger towards her face, indicating the black eye she now had. "Lightning punched me, then left without sayin' so much as a word."

There was a long pause after that, as Fang recalled the bottle she had picked up that night. The same one Lebreau's handwriting was on, listing the container as having one half vodka and two halves fresh behemoth blood. That was more than enough to hinder the soldier remembering, and Fang highly doubt she would for quite a few days - if she was lucky that is.

"Lebreau is to blame for all this." She grumbled under her breath, which earned an odd look from Vanille. "Why her? Surely Lightning has no one to blame but herself, since she was the one drinking her problems away... Right?" Fang just shook her head, and leaned back up in her seat to look the younger girl in the eyes.

"She's been addin' behemoth blood into her alcohol, and purposely givin' it to Lightning herself. I wouldn't have believed it myself either, if I hadn't bothered to check the bottle she dropped last night." Before Vanille could further question her, Fang motioned towards the front door. "If you don't believe me, that damn bottle is still layin' outside in the grass."

The younger pulsian seemed to take this into consideration, but eventually just smiled and reached out to lightly touch Fang's arm. "I believe you, Fang. Don't worry about that." She paused momentarily after that, while hopping off the couch and taking a few steps towards the nearby hallway. "We need to get you patched up!" And with that, Vanille disappeared to rummage around in the bathroom while giggling.

Fang could only sigh, inwardly making some snippy comment about how Vanille always did love playing doctor; only this time she was _actually_ injured. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long, as the spunky red head came bounding back into the living room, and retaking her spot on the sofa next to her.

Cracking open the faded red case she had brought with her, Vanille went about pulling a few different items out. She kept glancing at Fang from the corners of her eyes though, which slowly made the older huntress scowl at her more. "Why do you keep lookin' at me like that, 'Nille?" Fang growled, hints of irritation laced in her voice.

"Oh, no reason~" Vanille grinned, while reaching out to gently tug the other woman closer. She grabbed the ointment that had been placed in her lap, and squeezed a little bit of the white substance onto her fingers. "This should help with the swelling.." Fingers would then get started applying it to Fang's eye, being more than delicate in their actions as to not cause her discomfort.

"You know, Fang.." Vanille's voice trailed off, noticing how that scowl was still present on Fang's face. She was quick to smile again; being more than eager to see the reaction she was about to get. "If you don't do somethin' about that face, Lightning won't ever notice you in_ that_ way~"

The expression on Fang's face faltered, and she stared dumbfounded at Vanille as a crimson blush dusted her cheeks. "S-Shut up, Vanille!" She snapped, while turning her face to the right so she wouldn't have to stare at that overly amused look being given to her.

Vanille watched her friend closely, staying quiet for the time being as finished spreading the ointment around the injury. "Fang.." She dropped her hand back to that arm, giving it a little squeeze. "I was only teasing you. But I know how much you like Lightning, it's not hard to tell."

Fang mumbled inaudibly, but did turn to regard Vanille again. "Doesn't matter if I do or don't. I fucked up. I'll be lucky if she still considers me a friend after that stunt." There was still a bit of pent up anger at the soldier from being punched in her tone, but underneath that there was nothing but sadness. Vanille could sense this, and leaned in to rest her head against Fang's shoulder. "Hey, hey... I don't think that's true at all. You guys just need to, you know, work this little problem out yourselves."

Pulling herself away again after a moment, Vanille scooped up the large gauze eye patch and motioned for Fang to bring her head down a bit. The brunette did so without saying a word, and patiently waited while soft hands went about setting the soft padding against her eye. The band was then brought down behind her head, and one side tucked under Fang's left ear to keep the bandage in place.

"There we go, all better!" Vanille smiled warmly, and shoved the remaining items back into the med kit then placed it on the coffee table. A silence fell between them; while it wasn't uncomfortable, it left her to wonder what was going through Fang's mind. At least she wouldn't have to worry about people seeing how bad her eye was, as Vanille had noted how well the patch covered it up plus the bruising of her cheekbone.

Fang brought a hand up after a minute, and gently ran the pads of her fingers across the material covering part of her face. While she was pleased with hiding her black eye, it didn't stop the stinging sensation she felt burning a hole into her pride. Having to walk around town with it would be bad enough, considering all the looks people would give her. But being a Yun, and not having fought back at being injured? If people found out that tiny detail, she would ultimately be a disgrace to her family.

Either way, she hoped no one would question her too much about it, since admitting that Lightning had hit her would be a bad move in the long run. Etro only _knows_ what more that woman would do to her, if she let that fact slip out.

"Fang?" Vanille poked at her, not liking how distant the look in her eyes had become. The huntress blinked a few times, retracting herself from her thoughts and looked at her sister. "Oi, sorry.. Just thinkin'. Thanks for patchin' up my eye though, Vanille.." She chuckled a bit, offering the younger pulsian a smile. "Knowin' me, I prolly woulda hurt myself more in tryin' to get this patch on." With that said and done, Fang pulled the girl into warm embrace and hugged her tightly.

Vanille just giggled more, and happily wrapped her arms around Fang in return. "You don't need to thank me, silly! It's what I'm here for. _Someone_ has to look after you, right?" Rolling her eyes at her little claim, she pulled away and ruffled that auburn hair affectionately. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, missy." Fang got a tongue stuck out at her in response, and she merely poked the tip of Vanille's nose with a smirk riding on her lips.

"So.. Fang?" Vanille peered up at, curiosity swirling behind her lighter shade of jade eyes.

"What?" Fang raised a thin brow, a little unsure of what the younger female was about to ask her.

"What are you going to do now?" It was a good question, and one Vanille was interested in hearing. She knew Fang well enough from the past years to know she wasn't going to sit idly by, after getting physically injured over someone's irresponsible actions.

Running a hand down the right side of her face, Fang let out an annoyed sigh. "Don't know what I'm gonna do about Lightning just yet... But I do know one thing I _can_ do, and definitely plan on doin' here in a bit."

Vanille just squirmed around in her seat in anticipation, more than eager to know what Fang was going to do. While she would never admit it out loud, she had always found this side of her sister pulsian exciting. It would probably account for how well they got along as well, seeing as how many of the other kids from their clans back in the day were terrified of Fang. That was why Vanille had clung to her so easily, wanting to be protected from the older and meaner group of teens that harassed her on a daily basis.

Fang pushed herself up off the sofa, stretching her arms out over her head before both hands came to rest on her hips. "Goin' to head over to the bar, and get an explanation out of that blasted barmaid. She better have a damned good reason for givin' Lightning that crap, that's for sure." She motioned with her head towards the front door, and walked over to it to pull it open.

"You comin' with me or not?" Fang questioned, though personally not caring if the younger girl did or not. It _would_ be nice to have some company on the way though, especially if it would help avoid people trying to stop her on the streets and ask what happened.

Vanille practically bounced off the sofa, and was at Fang's side within a second. "Course I'm coming with you! Plus I want to know why Lebreau would do such a thing to begin with.. It's just not right!"

She just rolled her eye at Vanille, and ushered the girl outside before closing the door behind them. It wouldn't take too long to get to the bar, maybe 20 or so minutes on foot. But as they started off down the road, Fang silently prayed to Lady Luck for Lightning to not be there.

The day had already started off on the wrong foot, and Fang honestly didn't need it to get much worse than it already had.


	4. Chapter 4

"Will you just do it already?" Fang huffed, and nudged Vanille towards the front doors of the _NORA_ bar. They had been standing outside to the side of the entryway for nearly ten minutes already, and had been bickering over who would go in first.

"But why do I have to go?" The younger pulsian challenged Fang again, jutting her lip out defiantly as she propped her hands up on her hips and leaned her upper half forward.

"_Etro_, will you think about what you're sayin' for a minute Vanille?" The huntress retorted, and glared down at the girl with her good eye. "If _I_ go in there first, and _Lightning_ is in there too... Bein' here won't end good, I'll tell you that much. Besides, if she _is_ inside, seein' you wouldn't bug her much at all cause you're not me... See my point?"

Fang really didn't want to chance seeing the soldier so soon already, after Lightning left her home earlier. Another fight was _not_ on her list of things to do today, and if at all possible she wanted to avoid it.

Vanille scrunched her face up at her, but finally let out a sigh of defeat upon realizing Fang had made a really good point. "_Fiiiiiine_." She rolled her eyes and took a step towards the door, bringing her hands up to press against the metal of the door. Slowly but surely, it was pushed open and the younger girl's head peeked inside.

Light sage hues settled on the far side of the bar, and glanced to the other side where the counter was located. The place was empty save for two people; Lebreau and... _Snow_? Vanille's eyes widened, and her body pressed against the door now while she strained to hear what they were talking about.

Lebreau was leaning over the polished bar, propped up by nothing but an elbow while staring at Snow. A pen was twitching in her free hand, making small notes here and there as they conversed.

"So... You're going to need how many boxes?" The barmaid asked, while raising a brow at the huge grin the man was giving her. "Not that it will be a problem, but considering how many people are going to be there... It's good to know a rough estimate." Lebreau stated, the tip of her pen tapping against the counter while she waited for an answer.

Snow seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, before he just shrugged and gave the woman his usual goofy grin. "Probably around 60 or 70? Not sure how man—"

Vanille's head popped out from between the doors, and the girl leaned backwards to look up at Fang. "No one's in there but Lebreau and Snow! So can we go in now, pleeeease?" She nearly pleaded, giving the huntress puppy eyes that almost anyone would fall for - except one Yun Fang.

Fang gave the red head a weird look, but shook her head and gave her a lil push. "Yeah, tired of standin' out here anyway.." She grumbled, but followed after Vanille who had already gone running inside.

"Hiya Snow! 'Breau!" Vanille chirped happily, and bounced over to the bar before taking the stool on the right side of the huge man. Snow turned slightly in his own stool, and beamed a huge smile at the younger pulsian. "Heya Vanille! Didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon after the wedding. Couldn't get enough of your favorite hero, eh?" He teased, giving her a playful punch to the shoulder; which caused her to go spinning around in her seat, much to her delight.

Fang lingered at the doors, just watching her sister interact with Serah's husband. The girl had never been able to help herself once she had met Snow, and every opportunity Vanille was given she took to spent time with him. She loved his stories mostly, not to mention the way he bragged about his strength and how he loved to show off. Inwardly, Fang wondered if it had anything to do with how she had been before they had left their clans.. Perhaps that's why Vanille seemed so drawn to Snow, not that the huntress minded. He really was a great guy, she had to admit, even if he_ was_ cocoonian.

"_Faaaaaang_! Come sit with us!" Vanille called over to her, waving a hand at her eagerly. Snow seemed to perk up at that, and started to turn around to get a better view of Fang. "If it isn't my favorite pulsian! Feel like I haven't seen you in fore—" He stopped mid-sentence, and stared at the gauze patch covering her right eye.

"Whoa-ho-ho! What happened to_ you_?" He immediately hopped off his stool and strode towards the huntress, just to get a better look. Snow knew better than to try and get a peek of course, but damn, he was still curious to know how she had gotten injured. It was rare to see the Yun in such a state, as usually whoever attempted assaulting her would find themselves on their back quite easily.

Fang cast a glance over to where Lebreau was standing, but whom was too busy in whatever it was she was doing to join the conversation.

Returning her gaze back the the man standing in front of her, who's head was cocked to the side now from her not speaking up. Snow looked like he was ready to burst, just from suspense hanging in the air between them. With a sigh, Fang brought a hand up and motioned for him to stop even before he had started throwing more questions at her.

"Lightning happened." Those two words alone were more than enough to cause the blonde's eyes to widen in shock. "Damn.." It was all Snow could think to say, as his gaze fell back onto the eye patch hiding her bruised eye. "Can't imagine what you did to warrant getting hit like _that_.. Out of everyone I know, you were the only one she hadn't hit - besides Vanille, but that's a given if you know what I mean."

"_Tch.._" Fang scowled at Snow, starting to wonder if telling him the details would even be a good idea. But he had already asked, so there was no use in hiding anything now that he knew Lightning was the culprit.

Might as well keep it short and simple though. "She was drunk last night. Came over to my house demandin' to be let in, which I did though I had to haul her in myself. Let her change into some fresh clothes, listened to her sulk and whine, and on top of that got hit on." Fang paused, subconsciously biting at her lip now. Another glance was cast towards Lebreau, before pulling her gaze back and letting sage hues meet Snow's beryl ones.

"—I may have kissed her too. And when Lightning woke up this mornin', she wanted to know what happened.. So I told her, and in result got punched in the face. That's pretty much it." Fang finished, shifting where she stood.

"Whoa... I'm surprised that's _all_ you got, considering this is _Lightning_ we're talking about." Snow couldn't help but look at her in awe, as if anyone else had tried something like that they'd either be in the hospital, or dead. Fang had gotten away with just a punch to the face, and while he was sure that had hurt the huntress severely in it's own way, it was far better than what _could_ have happened.

"Yeah, whatever." Fang grumbled, before glancing over at Lebreau and narrowing her eyes. "Get out of my way, Snow." She hissed, and shoved past him to storm over the the bar. He stood there was a confused look on his face, wondering if he had said something to switch her mood so fast.

"_**Lebreau****!**_" The pulsian barked at the barmaid in her rising wave of anger, reaching over the counter with ease and grabbing a fistful of Lebreau's shirt. Fang tugged her forward forcefully, causing the woman to hit her side of the bar hard enough to make her yelp in surprise. She clenched her teeth, contemplating the dozen of things she wanted to do to this woman now that she was face to face with her. Reeling in most of her rage for the time being, she glared all kinds of death at Lebreau for what she had done.

"Tell me why the hell you went and let Lightning drink that shit. _Now!_" Fang snarled, tightening her hold on the struggling woman whom was more than scared shitless at this point.

Pissing off a Yun was never a smart thing to do, especially when it happened to be Fang.

"W-what are you... Fang, let go of me! I didn't do anything wrong!" Lebreau pleaded, and lifted a hand to grab at the brunette's wrist in attempt to pull her off.

"Bullshit! Because of that damn behemoth blood you've been givin' her, Lightning doesn't remember a damn thing that happened yesterday! Do you even _know_ what that crap does to a person?" Fang pressed the barmaid for an answer, silently praying for another reason why she should smack some sense into her.

The look Lebreau gave Fang was enough to make her hesitate for a split moment, as something etched onto her features caught her off guard. "...You honestly don't know, do you?" Fang could feel the anger slipping away, leaving her with nothing but disbelief at this situation. Lebreau stayed quiet, but nodded a confirmation of what the pulsian had said.

"Behemoth blood," Fang started, never once breaking the gaze she shared with Lebreau. "It's something only few of the clans use. Alone it's nearly harmless, but when mixed with alcohol it becomes somethin' different entirely. The more one person intakes, the larger the period of time they won't remember while they're drunk." She needed a better way to explain this, perhaps an example or two so these cocoonians would understand better.

"Alright... So, say if Snow here had one shot with this crap, given his size and build, he would forget anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.. And he wouldn't remember what happened durin' that time for an hour or two after his hangover was gone." Fang watched as realization slowly seeped it's way onto the barmaid's face. "You startin' to get the picture here? Lightning had that whole damned bottle, and considerin' how much you had labeled on it's side... She'll be lucky to remember anythin' from last night in the next week, if that!"

Before Fang could say anything else, the bartender was quick to cut her off and try to explain her side of things; especially before the Yun could get more riled up than she already was.

"Look I.. I honestly don't know what all really happened with you and Lightning, but I swear I meant nothing bad by mixing that stuff into her drink! The guy I buy most of my stock from, got some of the blood in and said it adds a kick to any alcohol it's added too." While she talked, a hand rummaged around in the small stack of papers she had been working on with Snow.

After a few minutes, Lebreau found what she was looking for and offered a half sheet of paper to Fang. "See? This is what the guy gave me when I bought some. Says the blood doubles the strength of booze, but mentions nothing more.. So I had no way of knowing! I only gave Lightning some, because I know she's been working hard and deserved something to take the edge off her stress."

Fang finally let go of Lebreau's shirt, took that offered piece of paper and shredded it without a second thought. Then, with a heavy sigh, she sunk into one of the stools in front of the barmaid and brought both arms up to lay across the smooth surface of the counter. "Maker help me... These fuckin' cocoonians.."

Vanille leaned over, wrapping an around around Fang's back, as she gave her a small hug. "There, there.. Everything will be okay, Fang!" She didn't get a chance to answer her sister pulsian, when she felt a stirring of air to her left as Snow plopped down in the seat next to her.

"Yeah! I agree with Vanille. Lighten up, Fang! You at least told Lebreau what that stuff is really capable of, so if anything you can avoid a repeat of yesterday." Snow then patted her on the back in a reassuring manner, trying his best to comfort one of his good friends.

A loud ringing from Snow's pocket made them all jump slightly. He gave them all an apologetic look; namely Lebreau who was giving him a look that screamed '_right now is not the time_', but he just ignored her and checked who was calling.

"Nope, sorry 'Breau! Gotta take this one, it's Serah." Snow grinned at Lebreau, before walking to the other side of the bar and out of listening distance.

Vanille watched him go and turned back to Fang, giving her right arm a gentle tug to get her attention. "Fang? What are you going to do now..?" She asked softly, since it was obviously Lebreau hadn't known about what the substance would do to Lightning.

"..Hell if I know, Vanille." The huntress grumbled, while leaning back in her stood to sit straight once more. "This whole thing is a big mess, and I'm not sure where to even start." Fang sighed, and rubbed the back of her neck while in thought. It was then that the heavy footsteps only belonging to Snow were heard heading towards them, and all three females turned their heads to look at him.

"So what did the _missus_ need this time, Snow?" Lebreau asked curiously, while giving him a sly wink and gathering her pile of papers back up.

"Not too much! Serah just wanted to know if you can spare another two of three boxes of beer for the party. Think that's possible?" Snow's grin only widened when Lebreau signaled she was okay with it, and only after that did he turned towards the sister pulsians.

"She also reminded me to ask the two of you if you wanted to come tomorrow. I was planning on stopping by your places later today, but since you're here already.." Snow looked towards Vanille first, seeing the glint in her eyes and laughed a bit. When he shifted his gaze to Fang, the look she gave him was completely unsure of his intentions and her mouth twitched with the question he could already see coming. "Before you ask, it's a party. Nothing too big though! It's basically a house warming party, since Serah is finally all moved in. It was her idea too, eheh."

Fang raised her good brow at him, but couldn't help but smirk at the thought that this whole thing was Serah's doing. Either way, she supposed it would be a nice distraction from everything, and Etro knows she needed something to do just that. Not to mention she had something to apologize to the youngest Farron for, so this would be the best opportunity.

"Yeah, I'll be there, Snow. Could use a little party after the day I've been havin'." Fang then glanced over her shoulder at Vanille, who's expression couldn't have been anything less than ecstatic over the party. "I'm going too!" She squeaked, right before shooting out of her seat to latch onto Fang. Her knees dug into the cushion of the stool, while she wrapped her arms around her sister's neck and rested her chin on that tousled mane of chocolate hair - all so she could get a closer look at Snow.

"Snooooow~? Is it okay if I make some food for the party? You know, like that one dish you and Serah loved so much as the wedding reception?" Vanille asked cheerfully, wanting to be apart of the party process more than she already was. Fang just rolled her eye, but smiled and leaned back against the younger pulsian. While it was rare for Vanille to embrace her as such, she honestly didn't mind it, and found a sense of comfort from it.

Fang sort of drifted off into her own thoughts for a few minutes; mostly thinking about her mother, and how much she missed her clan on top of that. Leaving her clan had been hard enough, even with Vanille in tow. But was all this really worth having done that? Granted, falling for the soldier hadn't been in her plans, but since the day they had met, Lightning was practically always on her mind in some way or another.

By the time she snapped out of her little trance, Snow had already left the bar to get some other things ready, and Vanille was sitting in the seat next to her once more.

"Hey, Fang?" Lebreau spoke up, while leaning her upper half over the counter table. "Hm..?" Fang turned in her stool, and tilted her head at the woman. "What do you want, 'Breau?"

"Well, think you can come in tomorrow morning and help me out a bit? I can't leave the bar until a closer time to the party itself, and I need someone strong to lug those extra boxes of beer to Snow's home.. I'd pay you, of course." Even as she had said it, Lebreau had already pulled out a small sack of gil and tossed it in front of Fang.

Jade hues eyed the bag for a moment, before she just shook her head and pushed the gil away. "Nah, you don't need to pay me. I'll do it for free. Besides, I owe them anyway as it is." Lebreau gave her a questionable look, but didn't try to pry in why her friend owed the newly wed couple.

"Okay then. Still, thanks for this.. I'll make it up to you sometime, I promise! Especially.." Lebreau fell silent for a second, her eyes settling on the gauze over Fang's eye. "...Yeah, _definitely_ going to make it up to for you that." She was determined to as well; after all one of her good friends had been hurt because of her actions.

"I'll hold you to that, missy." Fang offered her a tiny smirk, before pulling herself off the stood and stretching her arms and back. "Anyway... Think I'm gonna go back home. Tired as hell, since I barely got any sleep last night." She mumbled a bit more after that, but waved a hand in farewell to the bartender and her sister pulsian.

Right before Fang was about to walk out the doors, Vanille ran over and attached to her arm. "Fang! Can you come over tomorrow after you take those beers? I might need some help carrying my things there too.. So if you don't mind.."

A tanned hand rested itself on Vanille's head, as a single sage orb looked down into their lighter counterparts. "Sure thing, 'Nille." Leaning over slightly, Fang pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead, which earned a small giggle. Vanille let her go after that, and gave Fang a tiny push to on the back to make her leave.

"I'll see ya both tomorrow." Fang chuckled, lifting her hand away from Vanille's head then, and only after giving them both one last look, left the bar to go home and get the peace she so needed right now.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day came fairly fast, perhaps _too_ fast for Fang, despite having slept in the rest of the previous day. Either way, she got up around 9 in the morning, got dressed in her black top and ragged faded blue jeans and left her home.

The jog down to the bar wasn't too bad, and thankfully there was a nice breeze to accommodate for the blaring sun beating her down with it's rays. After roughly 10 minutes, Fang finally got to the bar, though stopped before going in and rested a hand up against the bricked wall. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, and flung the beads of sweat that clung to it down to the ground.

Her gaze drifted from the doors leading inside, to the neatly stacked boxes sitting up against the wall opposite of her. Figuring that these were the ones she was supposed to take, Fang pushed the closest door open and peered inside. Lebreau was nowhere to be seen, however she_ had_ to be inside otherwise the bar wouldn't even be unlocked at this time of day.

"Oi! 'Breau, you here?" The huntress called into the building; her voice reverberating off the walls in a slight echo. At first Fang couldn't hear a thing, and she was about to go check around the side of the building when the door leading to the kitchen swung open and Lebreau's head popped out. "Oh! Morning Fang!" The barmaid greeted her warmly.

Motioning with her free hand, she pointed a finger at the boxes outside the establishment. "Just to make sure, but these are the ones you wanted me to take, right? Didn't wanna run off with 'em without askin' first."

"Yeah, those are them." Lebreau confirmed, while gesturing for the pulsian to get going. "Don't make the hero wait more than he already has. You know how he gets, especially with Serah on his case about this party!" Laughing now, the bartender disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Fang to her little duty.

The huntress let the door close, and knelt down to inspect the boxes of beer she needed to take. It seemed like Lebreau was giving the couple some of her best stock, and while it came as a surprise to her, Fang was a more than pleased at the effort the woman was making to make sure Serah's party went off without a problem.

Fang easily scooped up the containers; holding two up in her right arm with her hand holding them steady up top, while her other arm held the last box against her side. To be fair they _were_ relatively heavy, and she could see why Lebreau had wanted her to carry them down the road to Snow's home instead of someone else.

Compared to most cocoonians, the people from the clans covering most of Gran Pulse were superior in strength, with the Yuns being at the top. For Fang, carrying these boxes of booze was like holding a small child - as to where other people would struggle to even carry two at a time. After casting one more glance at the bar doors, Fang set off down the road towards her destination.

The walk there was pleasant; barely anyone out on the streets just yet, and the few people who were didn't try and ask what happened to her eye. Fang was so immensely grateful for the space she was being given, since she didn't even want to think about it much, let alone talk about it to someone she didn't know.

She walked in silence for a few minutes, mostly getting lost in her thoughts over the party and who all had been invited. Fang didn't plan on mingling much though, instead hoping she'd be able to flop down in a chair somewhere and just relax with a beer in her hand. She already knew a majority of the people who were going she wouldn't know, but sadly they would know _her_. Practically everyone in New Bodhum knew who she was, simply because she was the only pulsian in town - besides Vanille - who had willingly stayed lodged in the city for more than a week.

If it wasn't for the fact she needed to talk to Serah face to face, Fang doubted she would have even given the party a second thought.

Slipping out of her little daze for a minute, sage hues peered at the huge, and recently built, home that was coming up at the end of the road. This side of town they were still slowly adding housing units, since more cocoonians were moving down from Cocoon to settle in. Nothing but politics, fights for power, and turmoil for the people who still lived up there. But according to the younger Farron, people felt safer up there despite all that.

Fang couldn't understand why; probably being born and raised on Pulse, and having totally different rules and beliefs would account for her confusion. Then again, cocoonian people always had been weird.

Turning down the paved walkway, Fang soon found herself at the front door of the home. Instead of ringing the doorbell though, she just silently admired the workmanship that was needed to have carved such intricate designs into the wood.

Now, the huntress had known Snow had built the house himself, with a bit of help from his little group of friends. But the skill needed for such a thing... Well, Fang was pretty sure that he couldn't have done it with such burly, and untrained hands in the art. Then again, upon closer inspection it occurred to her that maybe he _had_ done it - given the way how both Serah's and his own name were carved into the crystalline design, with his last name sprouting in vines and flowers from both of theirs.

Kneeling down and carefully setting down the lone box cradled in her arm, Fang reached over and pushed the button. Faint sounds of the bell going off through the house could be heard, before she saw the distorted view of the man walking towards the door from behind the glass panel. By the time the pulsian had leaned back over to pick the box up, the door was wide open and Snow was standing there with his signature grin.

"Hey Fang! Didn't think you would be here so early.. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." Snow grinned even more, if it was possible, and offered to take a box of two from her, but Fang just shook her head and stepped inside. The gust of cool air hit her sweat covered skin, and sent a pleasant chill down her spine. Felt so much nicer than being outside, that was for sure. "So uh, where do you want me to put these big guy?"

He just waved a hand in the air, not seeming to care where she put them down before walking back towards the kitchen. Fang blinked a couple times, then looked around the front hallway. Not really a good place to set the beer, so she just opted to followed after Snow down the hall. She hovered at the entrance to the room, staring in awe at how nicely furnished and huge their kitchen was. It was at least twice the size of her own, with added storage space, a small closet, and even two refrigerators that sat side on opposite walls.

Leave it to Snow to go all out when building a house, and then filling it with everything a girl like Serah could dream of.

"I'll just set em here for now." Fang said, while carefully stacking the beer boxes on the metal table sitting idly in the middle of the tiled room. "Gotta hand it to you though.. This house is pretty damn nice, for cocoonian standards anyway."

"Think so?" Snow glanced up from the giant chunk of behemoth meat he had gone back to slicing for Serah, to give Fang another grin. "Thanks! Worked really hard on this place.. Only the best will do for my girl, you know?" He chuckled when he only got an eye-roll from the huntress. "Hey, I know it's different from how you lived in your clan.. But as long as Serah is happy, then Lightning will be too because her sister is. Keeping them both happy is good for my benefit, so I try as hard as I can."

Fang gave him a weird look, knowing fully well that couldn't be farther from the truth with Lightning being happy, but it wasn't really her place to say anything on the matter. Sighing, she scratched at her cheek awkwardly while taking another look around the kitchen. But once her gaze fell back onto Snow, Fang shifted uncomfortably where she stood and mustered up some courage to open her mouth. "Snow?"

She waited until he lifted his head again to look at her, before continuing. "...Is Lightning goin' to be comin' to the party?"

The look he gave her was unsure, and he could only shrug his shoulders while placing the knife down on the counter. "We're not sure if she will or not. Serah has called her phone a few times, and we've both left her messages too.. Lightning hasn't gotten back to either of us, so I honestly don't know what to tell you, Fang." He turned around and leaned back against the counter, and folded his arms against his chest. "She may just be busy with work, but who even knows right now?"

Well at least she felt a_ little_ better knowing Lightning may not come at all, but it still had her worried that she wouldn't even answer her phone for Serah. Could the soldier be faring worse with her emotions than she originally thought? Or was actually just too busy with work for once? There wasn't a way to know just yet, and Fang was still sure being near Lightning anytime soon wouldn't be wise. Hell, she wasn't even sure what she would say to the woman if she _had_ been coming. For a brief moment, Fang stood there and prayed to Lady Luck for the second time in two days to be on her side with this whole mess.

"Anyway... I need to get goin'. Vanille asked me to stop by after I was done here, sayin' she would need some help bringin' her food. So I'll just see you when I get back, alright?" Fang smiled when he nodded her way, and turned back around to finish cutting the meat. "Be sure to be quick about it! Serah wants to kick things off in 40 minutes or so." Snow called over his shoulder, right before he heard the huntress walk into the hallway. The faint sound of the door opening and shutting could be heard a moment later, signaling Fang had left for her sister's home.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

An hour later; with 15 minutes added because a certain red head couldn't make up her mind, finally found the sister pulsians walking up to the front door with food in tow.

"Still can't believe you made me do all that runnin' around.." Fang grumbled, while the younger female knocked on the door with her free hand. Vanille then looked up at her with the biggest pouty face ever. "But Fang! I needed only the _best_ for Serah, you know this!"

Fang groaned, and shifted the four tubs of grilled fish in her arms. Vanille had wanted the best selected fish she could buy, and ended up making her older sister run around New Bodhum's market to find them. Thanks to Lady Luck, and perhaps the fact she was a Yun, Fang was able to get 3 pounds of the best quality fish gil could buy for Vanille to cook the Dia way. It didn't mean she was happy about having to do it though.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing a casually dressed Snow holding a beer in his right hand." Heya girls! It's about time you got here. Serah kept asking me if you were coming or not."

"They're here?" A familiar voice squeaked loudly from somewhere behind Snow. "Yeah, they're here, Serah. I told you not to worry too much, remember?" He was easily pushed to the side by the younger Farron, who gave him a dirty look before turning her attention to Fang and Vanille. "It's so good to see you guys!" Serah smiled, and stepped forward to give the younger pulsian a hug first. But as she was going to give Fang a hug, she stopped cold in her tracks and stared at the left side of her face.

"Fang! Oh my god... You look terrible. What happened?" She asked softly, while reaching over and resting her hand on Fang's shoulder. The huntress flinched a little at the contact, and glanced at Snow from the corners of her eyes as if asking for help. Thankfully he got the message, and gently tugged on Serah's arm. "Hey, hey! They just got here, you know? Let them get settled in before you start bombarding them with questions, baby."

"Oh.. Fair enough, I guess." Serah went silent for a moment, but her gaze moved to the containers of food Fang was holding onto. "Did you make all that, Vanille?" Her eyes went a fraction wider, the excitement in her features more than obvious that her friend had gone through so much trouble for her.

"Course I did!" Vanille reached for the things of fish, and Fang handed them over, though carefully to make sure her sister wouldn't drop them. "Wanna show me where to put them, Serah?" The young roseate just beamed a smile, and led Vanille down the hall towards the kitchen. Fang lingered by the door still, watching them until they were both out of her sight before turning to Snow.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, before jade eyes glanced down at the beer in his hand and back to his face. "You got any colds one left?" Snow just nodded with his head over to the large living room, where plenty of people were chatting and having fun. "Yeah, there's a cooler sitting on the table all the way on the other side of the room."

"_Thank Eden.._" Fang mumbled, waving him off as she stepped into the other room. Much to her dismay, quite a few people took notice of her entering and paused to gawk. A bit of hushed whispering surrounded her as she slowly walked to the table in the back. She ignored it for the most part, though some of their wild speculations made her twitch involuntarily. One group of younger females assumed she had gotten hurt during work; and while this didn't bother Fang in the least, part of her kind of wished it _had_ been the case. As for another smaller group of men, they were going on how she was just doing it for attention, and various other things that made no sense to her.

Too bad all their guesses couldn't have been farther from what had truly happened.

_Hmph... Cocoonians and their damn gossip._

Glad that she didn't have to actually talk to anyone at this party, she just grabbed two bottles of chilled beer and turned around. Fang then shot a few of the people who's eyes were still glued on her a glare, and kept at it until everyone had looked away and stopped paying her attention.

Grumbling under her breath, Fang moved over to a far corner where no one else was at, and slumped into a black recliner to get comfortable. No time was wasted in cracking open one of her bottles, and bringing it to her lips to take a few swigs. With a somewhat satisfied sigh, she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

_Suppose this is goin' a lil bit better than I thought it would... Least no one is buggin' me._ As if triggered by that thought alone, her head tilted slightly to the left and a single jade eye peered at the crowds of people. Not one person met her gaze, and the pulsian preferred it that way. That bottle was brought back to her lips again, and the rest of the liquid poured over her tongue in one go.

Just as Fang had placed her empty bottle on the floor near her feet, she noticed a flash of pink moving her way from the corner of her eye. "..Fang?" She looked up in time to see Serah hovering a few feet away, arms folded behind her back as her fingers fidgeted together. Fang raised a brow, while popping open her second beer of the night. "—Yeah? What can I do for you, lil Farron?"

"Do you mind if I sit here and talk to you for a bit?" Serah asked softly, while eyeing the chair next to the older woman. Fang cast a glance at it too, but motioned with her hand for her to sit down. "Yeah, go ahead. I wouldn't mind a bit of company anyway."

An appreciative smile swept over her face, while Serah stepped around the table and sat down. "It's nice to see you around, Fang.. I feel like it's been ages since we've talked." Her azure orbs met the pulsian's single sage, before Fang tore her gaze away to stare at the bottle in her hand. "..I know, and I'm sorry for not bein' around much. Work has been keepin' me busy lately, as I'm sure you've heard by now."

A small silence fell between them after that; neither truly knowing what to say the the other, until Fang finally spoke up again to shatter the quiet. "Serah, I want to apologize for missin' the weddin' the other day.. I feel horrible about it, but I had to fill in for someone while it was goin' on.. Hope you can forgive me."

Serah just shook her head, and lightly touched the back of Fang's hand. "Don't worry about it. I know you would have come if you could have, and that's enough for me. Besides! You still came to the party, and I think that more than makes up for it."

Lightning's sister truly was a saint, Fang decided then, and the urge to just reach over and hug the girl was overwhelming. She had been sure that Serah would have been upset over missing the wedding, but relief flooded her system now that it was clear it wasn't being held against her.

"Hey, Fang?" The huntress pulled herself from her thoughts, and looked back over at Serah. "What is it?" She asked, while managing to get a few more swigs in of her beer, despite those crystal blue eyes on her that could pierce into her very soul if they wished it. Damn these Farrons and their intense staring.

"...Lightning did that to you, didn't she?" Serah said in a calm tone, while pointing a finger towards the bandaged area on her face. Fang went rigid in her seat, wondering _how_ she had even figured it out without having been told anything yet.

"That's a good guess.. How did you figure it was her?" Fang was genuinely interested in this, and thus sat up straight to turn her body to face Serah more. Her face scrunched up in confusion however, when all she got was a round of laughter from the young roseate. "Eh? What's so damn funny?"

"Oh come on, Fang! Who are you kidding here? There's not a single person in New Bodhum dumb, or even brave enough, to hit a Yun besides my sister. And the fact that it's your face that got hit, practically _screams_ it was Lightning as well."

Fang just sat there, looking like she had just been hit by a velocycle by the stunned expression etched onto her face. She stared at Serah for a long moment, before breaking out into a soft chuckle. "Damn.. You've got a good point there, you know that? That woman ain't scared of anythin', is she?"

Or so everyone thought, anyway.

Fang had to wonder if anyone else knew Lightning's true feelings on Serah getting married, or how lost the soldier seemed now. She wanted to find out badly, but what if no one else really did know? Lightning was a master at hiding her inner turmoil, to where even her sister had a hard time of knowing things plaguing her sister.

That begged another question; why was it so hard for Lightning to let someone in? To help her and ease whatever pain she was feeling? It would be so much better, instead of drinking her problems away.

_Not that I'm doin' any better at the moment.._

Fang snickered at her inner comment, and got a weird look from Serah once she had. She was quick to shake her head, and give her a smile. "It's nothin'. Was just thinkin' bout somethin' is all."

Right before Serah could ask her what it had been, Vanille came bounding into the room towards them and flopped onto the small sofa across from her and Fang. "Hiya!" She giggled, and scooted over a tad so Snow, who had come after her, could sit next to her.

"Was wonderin' where you two disappeared off to." Fang huffed out, while tipping her bottle back and consuming the last half of her second beer. She tapped her nails on the side of the glass, right before looking to Vanille and waving it in the air a bit. "Think you can grab me another beer or two, Vanille?"

"Well..." Vanille nervously glanced over towards Snow, then to Serah; whom both gave her a concerned look. The next thing Fang knew, they were all staring at her.

"We want to talk to you first, Fang." Snow spoke up, though shutting up just as quick as he had started from the glare the huntress gave him. He decided then and there to leave the talking to the women.

"Eh? And what would it be exactly, that requires all of you to corner me like this?" Fang hissed slightly, giving them all a suspicious look.

"Fang, it's nothing bad, I promise!" Serah spoke up, hands hovering in the air above her chest and making a 'calm down' motion towards Fang. She grumbled a bit under her breath, but leaned back into her recliner. "Fine. What is it you wanna talk about?"

"We want to talk to you about Lightning." The trio watched Fang cringe at the topic. That was the_ last_ thing she had wanted to hear. Wasn't coming to the party part of the whole; let's not talk about Lightning for a night thing, or did Vanille and Snow forget that?

Fang just glowered at the lot of them, and stayed silent. After looking over at Vanille as if for confirmation, Serah took the pulsian's silence as an okay to continue.

"I know you'd like to think none of us have noticed, but the truth is we all know about how you feel about my sister, Fang." That caught the brunette's attention, and she immediately locked her gaze Serah's own - though still not moving to say anything. "It's... More than obvious in the way you watch her too." Serah stifled a small laugh though, and smiled at Fang. "To be honest, when I first noticed it? I thought I was seeing things, but after talking with Snow and Vanille... We realized months ago you liked Lightning in _that_ way."

"Oi, just stop it right there, missy." Fang interrupted her finally, and waved a hand dismissively in the air at Serah. "Doesn't matter if I like the woman or not.. After gettin' punched in the face the other day, I realized there's no way she'd ever.. You know, return those feelings. Her walls are damned near impregnable, and I've been tryin' to get pass them for nearly a year now... Lot of good that did me." Her voice trailed off angrily, while her left hand came up to rest itself over her eye.

"I can't keep doin' this, guys. My pride can't take another beatin' like that again.." Tossing the empty bottle onto the floor with her previous one, Fang sighed heavily and resorted to staring at the carpeted floor underneath her feet. "At this point, it'd prolly be best for everyone if I just called it quits and gave up."

Vanille and Serah exchanged worried looks. "But Fang.. That doesn't mean you should give up, you know? I think you just need to talk to Lightning, and sort everything out." Serah nodded at what the red head had said, before adding; "I agree.. You can't work this whole mess out if you keep on avoiding her like the plague."

Fang lifted her head just to sneer at them both. "She's the one who's avoiding people like the plague, not me. If she won't even talk to you or Snow, what makes you think Lightning will talk to _me_?"

That shut Serah up relatively quick.

It was completely true though, and that fact alone hurt in a dozen different ways, more-so than Fang would ever realize. "You're right, Fang.. I'm sorry we bothered you with this. I just figured if anyone could get through to her, it would be you." With a small sigh, the young Farron got up from her seat and started walking away to go check on her guests.

Snow watched her go sadly, and mumbled a small apology to Fang as well before getting up to join his wife.

Vanille on the other hand stayed where she was, looking utterly helpless. "I wish we could do something for Serah.. It must hurt an awful lot for her sister to be ignoring her."

"It prolly does.." Fang murmured, and for the first time that day looked truly disheartened by the situation as she looked over to Vanille. "I don't think any of us can do much of anythin' about it though... It's somethin' the Farrons need to deal with on their own."

"But what if they don't..?" Vanille asked, with bits of sadness mixing in with her words.

Fang could only frown and shake her head. Even she didn't know what the future held for the pair, but she severely hoped a rift wouldn't tear the sisters apart more than the wedding already had.


	6. Chapter 6

Barely reaching the fifth hour into the party, and things were going full swing. More friends of the newlywed couple showed up during that time, and promptly filled most of the huge living room with chatter. The front door was wide open as well, as some of the people had spilled outside onto the yard and were partaking in a few friendly sports - which Snow had the pleasure of leading.

Fang on the other hand, had confined herself to that recliner and refused to budge for anything. There were too many people around now; and the number of looks coming her way was increasing by each passing minute, much to her dismay.

She was only thankful for the fact everyone was more interested in the party itself, than to bother walking over and trying to talk to her about the blasted eye. Fang was still tempted to leave though, but knew better than to try sneaking out after having promised Serah she'd stay til the end.

"I'm back, Fang~!" Vanille called out towards the older pulsian, while pushing past a few people here and there before flopping down in the seat next to Fang.

"I can see that." The huntress replied, while turning her head to glance out the window where Snow and a few of his friends were goofing around. "So... How was his lil toast or whatever? I couldn't hear him in here, but I still watched." It was really only for a lack of nothing better to do, but it had been amusing at least from what she witnessed.

"Oh! It was great!" Vanille leaned over the side of her chair, and rested her elbows on the black leather of the recliner's arm. She seemed really into this topic, and Fang was sure she was about to get every little detail shoved at her. It honestly didn't bother her; as long as Vanille was having fun, that was all that mattered to her.

"Snow started off by thanking everyone for coming out to the party, and then talked about how lucky he was to have found Serah. It was all so sweet!" Vanille's eyes were practically sparkling as she spoke, and Fang just rolled her eye at how excitable the younger girl was when romance was involved.

"Not sure I'd call it _sweet_ though. If you ask me, Snow sure looked pretty damn wobbly standin' on that table they dragged out there. Coulda swore he would have fallen off it too." Fang chuckled softly, and cast a quick look out the window where their friend was running around clumsily. "Startin' to think he's had one too many beers too, y'know? I mean look at that big goof out there.."

Vanille joined Fang in staring outside, and watching the odd sport being played out by the two groups of men. Neither of them understood the rules, but they did know it had something to do with keeping the ball away from the other team for as long as possible. Points were seemingly given by the number of 30 second intervals passed while holding onto the ball, beyond that though the rules varied by who played. This game seemed to be relatively rough, as was noted by how people were getting tackled left and right into the ground.

Cocoonian males were truly into some _weird_ games.

"So, anyway~" Vanille resumed facing Fang, with a wide grin set onto her face. "Despite all the beers he had, I think his toast was good." A pale finger came up to her chin, and she lightly tapped against it in thought for a moment. "You know... I'm surprised Serah didn't say anything afterwards though, you know.. Since they're now married and all that. I was so sure she would too. Then again, she hasn't been looking that well either.."

Fang just rolled her shoulder in a slight shrug, "Think so? Maybe she's just a lil worn out from the party, Vanille. I mean, it can't be easy maintainin' order with so many people about, and havin' your spouse on the verge of bein' totally drunk along with that."

Vanille seemed to think on this for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders as well and getting back to telling Fang everything about the toast. Despite how eager the red head was about it, Fang wasn't truly interested in it so she pretended to listen for the time being - but her mind was elsewhere.

The huntress _did_ catch a few words here and there, and of course nodded whenever Vanille poked and asked if she was listening. Her attention was mostly directed towards the window though, and watching the men fool around.

At some point, Vanille had stopped speaking and was looking towards the front hall. Fang had missed it due to being more than a little zoned out, but there had been faint knocking on the open door to the house. The younger pulsian watched as Serah came running down the hall from the kitchen, and immediately pulled the person who met her halfway into a hug; _Lightning_.

"Sis! I'm so glad you came... I was beginning to worry. You didn't answer any of my calls or texts, and no one knew where you were either.." Serah squeezed her sister even tighter, and buried her face into Lightning's shoulder.

While resting her chin on Serah's head, the soldier let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Serah.. I just needed some time to my self, after getting today off duty. It wasn't my intent to make you worry, especially during your own party.. Some things did keep me from contacting you though yesterday, and I'm sorry for that as well."

Lightning pulled away after a bit more of hugging her sister close, and lightly poked the younger girl's forehead. "I'm here now though, right?" A small smile graced her lips, once Serah nodded in agreement and motioned towards the party going on around them. "Feel free to join in whenever, Claire. I know a few people were looking for you."

_...Looking for me?_

The roseate gave Serah a weird look, but it was deflected easily when the girl slipped away and back into the kitchen, leaving Lightning to stand there awkwardly.

Vanille saw this as an opening, and quickly hopped onto the couch right across from where Fang was sitting. She leaned over the back of the sofa, and waved over to Lightning to try and get her attention. "Hiya, Light!"

Upon hearing her sister pulsian speak the soldier's name, Fang stiffened in her seat but refused to look in Vanille's direction. _Oi... You've gotta be shittin' me. She actually came?_ Suddenly staring out the window became the most fascinating thing ever to her.

Lightning turned her body a fraction, as beryl hues rested on the cheerful face of Vanille who looked more than happy to see her. "—Hey, Vanille." She offered a faint smile, and a slight wave of her hand in return. Though her gaze slowly drifted behind the girl, to fixate on Fang; and more importantly the gauze patch covering part of her face.

_I didn't think she'd be here..._

Now if it hadn't been for Snow stumbling inside and bumping into her just then, Lightning probably would have kept staring until the huntress would have taken notice of her.

"Sorry bout that, sis." Snow flashed her a lopsided grin, and patted her on the shoulder. "Glad you made it though!" Lightning rolled her eyes, and lifted her right hand up to flick his own away from her shoulder. The gesture caused the blonde to pause a moment, before he went right back to patting her other shoulder instead.

"C'mon! You need to _lighten_ up, Lightning, and join the party.." Snow started to laugh like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard or said. "You get it, right? Lighten up?"

Lightning didn't think twice about jabbing him in the side with her elbow, and let out a satisfied huff when he whined at being hit. "—You should stop with the lame jokes, and get back to hosting your party. _Don't you think_?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going already, geez." Snow turned to leave back out the front door, but stopped and looked over his shoulder at Lightning. "Being serious though, Light. Loosen up a bit, it'll do you some good." And with that said, the blonde left to return to his group of friends.

Azure eyes watched him go, though Lightning didn't even try to cover up the frown that had settled onto her face. _Do me some good? Yeah right..._ If he had been annoying when he was sober, Snow was at least twice as much when alcohol was involved. How her sister put up with it was beyond her.

Lightning turned back to face the main living room, and the dozens of people scattered about and conversing. She had never been much of a party person, but since it was for Serah there was nothing to do but grin and bear it. A few people warmly greeted her as she stepped into the room, and even more gave her a look of recognition before returning to their idle chatter. Of course everyone _knew_ who she was, but it did little to keep the awkward feeling from settling into her being.

Reaching the table with the various snacks and cooler full of drinks, she just let her eyes settle onto the beers and wander from one label to the next. Lightning hadn't had a drink in over 36 hours, due to being preoccupied with a certain night's events that she couldn't recall still. While beer wasn't her preferred alcoholic drink of choice either, it was better than nothing after a long day of paperwork that she hadn't finished from the day before due to some unforeseen things happening.

The roseate turned around on the spot, while popping open her bottle of beer, and glanced over towards where Vanille and Fang were still seated. The younger of the pair had flipped around on the couch, and was now staring quite intently at the brunette across from her. Fang on the other hand... Was still looking out that window, as if oblivious to everything around her. Lightning was tempted to go over to them; to try and strike up a conversations at least, or ask Fang how her eye was.

But Lightning knew better than to do so, especially when the huntress was making it a big deal to ignore the fact she was even there.

Looking over to her left, Lightning scanned a few of the small groups lingering around the room. No one she really knew, though it was to be expected although a few people did look a tad familiar. It wasn't until her gaze settled on the back of the room, that she caught a glimpse of two taller guys and a younger woman beckoning her over to them. Hesitating for a mere moment, Lightning looked the trio over before recognizing them as a few of the new recruits she had been supervising within the last few weeks.

"Miss Lightning! It's a pleasure to see you, as always." The three of them greeted her in unison, standing straight as well while saluting her. Lightning could only smile and hold up her free hand in a halting motion. "Formalities aren't necessary here, it's just a party. Though I'm curious why you'd be here of all places.."

"Oh, that's no big deal." The male closest to her spoke up; Bryan was his name, if she recalled correctly. "Mr. Villiers had been up at Headquarters the other day, and said anyone who wanted to come, could stop by today."

"Of course, not everyone could come as you know... Since there have been quite a few disturbances in the city lately, making patrols need a few extra men. But a few of us managed to get off, so we came here to relax." Anne, the smaller blonde chimed in after Ryan and shuffled closer to Lightning. "Been meaning to ask you something though, Sergeant Farron.. Is it true you took out that huge group of thugs by yourself the other day?"

Lightning could only inwardly sigh at the question, wondering how fast the news had gotten out that she had done it. Truthfully, she had just been walking aimlessly through town and ended up in a gang's territory, but they had made the mistake of pissing her off more than she already had been at that point.

Suffice to say, many of them ended up in the hospital with severe injuries.

Amodar on the other hand, had been thoroughly pleased by her performance of dealing with one of their bigger problems as of late - single-handedly on top of that. Due to her efforts, he had given her the day off _with_ pay which was rare, even for her.

"—Yeah, it's true." Just in her confirmation of the deed, the recruits broke out into excited chatter amongst themselves. Lightning stared at them curiously for a time, even nodding her head when a question was directed towards her once more. Eventually her eyes wandered over to the other side of the room, and settled on Fang.

Vanille, who had still been watching her sister pulsian like a hawk, seemed to notice Lightning's attention being drawn in their direction. The roseate had already turned her gaze back towards Anne and her comrades by then, but the red head let her own eyes linger on Lightning.

"You know, she was looking at you a second ago, Fang.." Vanille whispered, so only the huntress could hear her. "_Eh_? So she'll stare at me from the other side of the room, but won't even man up and come over to apologize? _Figures_." Fang scoffed, and refused to tear her eyes away from the window she had been staring out of for the last half hour.

"Maybe she doesn't know how to say it..?" Vanille was starting to really hope that was the case, because she hated seeing her friends acting this way towards each other. Fang and Lightning had been close friends for many months now, but this little fight - or _whatever_ they wanted to call it - was beginning to get ridiculous. She just wished there was a way to remedy the situation, though already knew it wasn't her place to get involved.

"Oh!" Vanille squeaked softly, after having caught Lightning looking at Fang again from the corners of her eyes. "Faaaang... She did it again!"

"So? I really don't care if she keeps lookin' or not." Fang finally turned her head to face her sister pulsian, and crinkled her nose in an annoyed display. "Doesn't make much of a difference anyway, since she isn't botherin' to actually come over here herself."

"I guess that's a good point.." Vanille replied softly, while toying with the many bracelets covering her wrists. Her thoughts wandered off, while Fang went back to being more than content to stare out that window.

Was it really that hard for the two of them to put their pride away, and just talk things out? If this kept on much longer, Vanille was sure the two of them would never speak again. Granted, Fang probably shouldn't have kissed Lightning while she was drunk, and had behemoth blood in her system as well that night... But that didn't give the soldier the right to hit Fang to begin with, even if she was upset over what had happened.

Why did everything have to be so darn complicated anyway? Vanille knew Fang was suffering, more than anyone could truly ever understand, just because of how much she cared for the Farron. It had been _more_ than obvious to those around them how she felt too, so why was it that Lightning hadn't taken notice yet? Or on the off-chance she had, why hadn't she bothered to say anything?

It left Vanille baffled, and she was already getting a small headache from trying to think up a solution to get them back to being friendly.

Fang shifted in her recliner, and looked over Vanille's head towards the front hall that led into the kitchen. "—Hey, Vanille? Do you know if there are any grilled fish left in the kitchen?" She inquired, while getting off her seat and stretching slightly. The brunette took a few steps around the low table, and purposely kept her back towards Lightning the whole time.

"Hmm.. I think so! I made so much, remember? So there's bound to be some left! We should go look~" Vanille easily shoved all her previous thoughts away, to focus on the task of getting some food in her belly. She reached out and grabbed Fang by the wrist, and gently pulled her towards the hall.

Fang didn't seem to mind that much though, and was frankly glad to be getting out of the roseate's sight. There was so much tension between them while being in the same room, and she had no real plan on going back in there any time soon. _Etro_, if she was lucky she could stay in the kitchen for the rest of the party, and not have to deal with Lightning just yet.

Then again, she doubted there would be an easy way out of talking to Lightning, given how they both were_ finally_ in the same place for once. Fang could only hope there would be enough time to think of what to say, before that inevitable chat came to pass.


	7. Chapter 7

"Thanks for having us over, Ms. Villiers. It was one helluva good party." A tall brunette, and one of Snow's closer friends at that, did a half bow in front of Serah in appreciation, although it was a tad clumsy due to the alcohol in his system.

"Don't mention it. It was nice seeing you again!" The younger Farron beamed a smile at him, and then politely ushered him out the front door. "Be careful on your way too, okay?" Light azure orbs watched as the male joined up with a few stragglers outside, and stumbled down the walkway until they hit the path leading back towards town.

The party had dragged on longer than Serah had expected, and now that the last couple of people were gone she breathed a sigh of relief.

A soft breeze managed to slip inside the house as the door was closed, and it must have been noticeable as someone in the livingroom stirred. Taking a few steps towards the opening into the other room, Serah peered in and saw Lightning sitting on the couch by herself and merely tapping her nails against the side of the glass bottle in her hand.

Faint chattering in the kitchen down the hall made Serah turn her head, and lean back where she was standing to get a peek at who was in there still. She could barely make out the titian curls that belonged to Vanille, and the lithe form of the older pulsian leaning against the counter behind her.

After casting one last glance towards her elder sister, whom was too preoccupied within her own little world, Serah took off down the corridor and stepped into the kitchen. Her appearance caused Fang to lift her head a margin, and nod a greeting to the smaller roseate. Vanille turned around on the spot, and smiled happily at her friend.

"Oh! Heya, Serah~" The red-head squeaked, while motioning towards the spotless tables and counters. "I cleaned up most of the mess for you! I hope you don't mind.. It was the least I could do after Snow made that big mess with the fish I brought."

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble, silly. But thank you anyway for the hard work, Vanille." Serah smiled warmly, though her curiosity was starting to get the best of her."So.. Why are you guys still here? I figured you would have left already."

"Well, I wanted to tell you goodbye before leaving.. But when I came in here and saw the mess I felt bad, so I ended up cleaning it all by myself instead!" Vanille giggled a bit, and shot a look towards the older pulsian. "—And Fang stayed just in case I needed any help. Isn't she so sweet~?"

That comment earned an eyeroll from Fang. "Well _someone_ had to make sure you could carry all your stuff home."

Vanille just giggled some more, and winked at Serah in a playful manner. The young pinkette just smile a bit more, though it faltered quickly when she looked back up towards Fang - and more importantly her eye. "—Hey, Fang? Did sis apologize for what she did to you?"

Her question seemed to prod Fang in a bad way, for she just growled under her breath and turned her head away to stare off into the other side of the kitchen. "No, she didn't. Your sister hasn't talked to me all night."

"She didn't?" The look on Serah's face immediately soured, and it wasn't hard to tell that the girl was getting upset over the whole ordeal.

A part of her was pretty sure Fang hadn't made it easy to approach her to begin with, but even still the fact Lightning hadn't even bothered to at least _try_ to talk with her was unacceptable. Serah spun on her heels and practically stormed back down the hall, leaving the pulsians to share a glance amongst themselves in a moment of confusion.

She stopped short of the entry way into the other room, and dropped her balled fists to rest on her hips as she glared at her older sister. "_Claire_!"

Serah's voice alone had startled Lightning rather bad, and she nearly dropped her half empty bottle off beer on the floor while attempting to ease her nerves. It was rare for her sister to take such a tone with her, leaving the soldier to wonder what exactly she had done wrong - despite having been sitting in the room alone for the last twenty minutes.

"What's with the yelling, Serah?" Lightning asked cautiously, while slowly standing up and placing her beer onto the low table. She then returned her full attention onto her sister, who was still glaring rather intensely at her from the hall.

"I can't believe you! You've been here how many hours now? And had plenty of opportunities as well, yet you still haven't gone in there and apologized to Fang for what you did?" Serah didn't even bother letting Lightning get a word in, as she swiftly strode over and behind her sister before giving her a not so gentle push out of the living-room. "You're going to go talk to her right now. This fighting is making it hard to be around either of you two, and I'm not the only one who thinks so!"

Lightning struggled at first, but eventually gave into being herded down towards the kitchen. There was no way she was getting off the hook so easily, especially when Serah got like this. No wonder the children rarely acted out of line in her classes. _Meanie Miss Farron_ was a suitable name indeed.

The weight at Lightning's back ceased the moment Serah had finishing shoving her in, and it left her to stare awkwardly at the two pulsians. Vanille was returning that same look, alternating it between both Farrons, while Fang.. was not as eager to make eye contact, as her gaze was practically glued to the floor.

"Vanille, you're coming with me. These two need to sort, whatever _this_ is, out." Serah gave no room for argument either. With a few swift strides she grabbed onto the dia's wrist, and practically dragged her out of the kitchen and into the living-room - leaving her sister and Fang alone to talk

Lightning was vaguely aware of the hushed voices coming from down the hall, probably already making assumptions as to what would happen next, but despite that she could only stare at the woman across the room who wouldn't meet her gaze.

They stayed like that for Etro knows how long; neither willing to speak first, and not even knowing what to say on top of that. Serah had meant well, she truly had, but her actions had thrown them both into a rather awkward situation - moreso than it had already been.

Finally, after not being able to stand the silence anymore, Lightning took a hesitant step forward with eyes never once leaving the brunette's form.

Fang slowly lifted her head at the sound, and for the first time in what felt like forever.. She looked Lightning straight in the eyes, though making it a point to keep her inner thoughts and emotions unreadable, at least for the time being.

Though, upon further inspection of the soldier's face.. More and more hints of pure exhaustion became clearer. Her form was nowhere near as straight and proper like it should be, which she had come to register with Lightning ever since having met her. And her eyes.. They seemed a bit duller, and almost looked as if she had seen hell and back.

"...You look like shit."

"Look who's talking." Lightning replied in an annoyed tone, while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Heh, that's funny comin' from the one who hit me." Fang retorted, not even bothering to hide the irritation that was starting to show through her tone.

Lightning twitched from the reminder, and scowled. It hadn't even truly been her fault. Sure, in the end she _had_ been the one to hit Fang.. But the hunter should have known better to begin with. Whether or not she had passed out on her was one thing, but Fang could have easily moved her into a different room - or Etro forbid left her on the couch and went back to her own room.

Still, Lightning supposed she did owe Fang _some_ sort of apology, even though her current attitude didn't _exactly_ make her feel like giving one. With a sigh, the soldier's expression softened a bit. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have tossed a punch without hearing you out."

Despite the words coming from Lightning's mouth, to Fang they sounded insincere - as if the woman was just trying to get it out of the way so she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. Too bad that wasn't going to fly with her.

"—_Sorry_?" Fang repeated that word alone in a low hiss, with eyes narrowing at Lightning. "I'll be bloody damned if you're really sorry. You can't even do it on your own, and have to get your sister to make you instead!"

Lightning took a step back, speechless, as Fang shoved herself away from the counter and brushed by her as she started to leave. What was there to even say to that? She was right, and it was a clean blow to her pride. Lightning hadn't been ready to confront Fang over what happened that night, and in fact wished she could of had a few more days to think things over. ..And now, because of this, the pulsian was even more riled up that she had been the day of.

She turned a half circle to watch Fang leave, but froze when the huntress stopped to glare over her shoulder. "Y'know, Light.. The world doesn't revolve around only_ you_. Think about that for once."

Lightning opened her mouth to respond, but she was too late. Fang had disappeared out of sight into the hall, with the sound of the front door slamming before her being the only indication that she had actually left.

Serah and Vanille had watched Fang storm past them, though both being a little too afraid to say anything. They shared a worried look, before the younger pulsian tip-toed over to the door and opened it to peer outside. Vanille sighed, as she had really hoped her sister would have just stepped outside to cool her head, but... "It's no use.. I don't see her out there anywhere."

"I swear, the two of them really act like children sometimes." Serah muttered under her breath, while turning down the hall towards the kitchen. Upon entering, she saw Lightning leaning against the counter when Fang had been earlier, grumbling to herself with arms crossed over her chest.

Knowing her sister very well, Serah knew how stubborn Lightning could be when it came to explaining what happened in a fight - especially when it came to Fang. "—I take it that talk didn't go too well, did it?"

Her inquiry was met with one of Lightning's hand balling up, before she slammed it down onto the counter in a pissed off display. "Stubborn Yun." She spat, feeling thoroughly done with the situation now. "I apologized. What more does she want from me?"

_"Uhm.. Lightning?"_

Lightning didn't have to look up to recognize Vanille's voice, but she just didn't feel like talking after the whole ordeal with Fang. ".._What_?"

Vanille was a little taken back by Lightning's tone, as she had never truly been on her bad side - and frankly was hoping to keep it that way. But.. She really needed to know the truth.

"Please don't be upset with Fang.. You hurt her a lot more than I think you realize, so it's only natural she's acting this way." She couldn't even rightly tell if Lightning was even paying attention, but still she pressed on, if only for her sister's sake. "Fang has done so much for you lately, and all you gave her in return was a black eye for her efforts.."

Serah blinked and slowly turned around, giving Vanille a confused look - with Lightning lifting her own head to do the same. Neither had any clue what she was referring to, and it was quite obvious by how they looked at her. Eventually, after a few moments of utter silence, the younger Farron's curiosity cracked. "What are you talking about, Vanille?"

"Fang, she... Didn't want you guys to know; especially Lightning. But.." Vanille just sighed, as mossy hues softened at the thought of all Fang had put herself through. "..You know all those shifts you've ever gotten off in the past year, Lightning?"

The soldier gave a slightly nod, though didn't apparently seem to understand where the Dia was going with it.

"You had been running yourself ragged remember? And Fang noticed. She... Willingly took on several extra hours a day just so you could get time off, even when she had just joined the Guardian Corps herself." Vanille paused a moment to let that sink in, while turning her attention towards Serah. "You were upset that Fang couldn't make it to your wedding.. But, she took Lightning's shift that day too because no one else would."

The realization of Vanille's words had already hit Serah, and hard. "Oh Fang.. I honestly thought it was just work keeping her away, but she was really going out of her way for you, sis."

Lightning didn't say a word, and just dropped her gaze to stare at the tiled floor. Everything made sense now; all those days she had gone in, only to be turned away with the day off by a smiling Amodar. On top of that, she couldn't recall a single time she had seen Fang during any of those free days either.

_...Why couldn't she just tell me?_

Whatever anger that was left in her system slowly dissipated into nothing, as she stood there realizing just how much of a bitch she had been towards Fang. The huntress had every right to be as pissed off as she was at her, she knew that know.

Fang deserved better than that half-assed apology too.

She wasn't even aware she had started walking out of the kitchen, having been so deep in thought. But Lightning she reached the front door and started pulling it open, Serah's voice made her stop. "Where are you going..?"

Lightning was tempted to give a false answer, but knew better than to. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak.. No need to cover up her intentions after the night she already had.

"I need to find Fang." Was all she was willing to give in response, before stepping out and shutting the door behind her to follow after the pulsian's trail.


	8. Chapter 8

Half an hour later of searching for the pulsian, it slowly occurred to Lightning that finding Fang was easier said then actually done— considering that for someone who had barely left before her, she could cover some serious ground all on her own.

Then again she could understand that anyone would have wanted to get out of there just as fast, after being put in such an awkward position which neither of them had clearly been ready for to begin with.

An irritated sigh escaped then, as gloved hands shoved open the main doors that belonged to the town's local gym so she could leave. It had been one of the first places she had stopped to look into in her search, knowing that Fang had a membership and came quite frequently to blow off steam after particularly shitty work shifts.

The place itself had been practically a ghost town, save for a few people scattered about the building's confines, and the only person she had recognized was Gadot- but he had been too intent on his weight-lifting and partially drunken bragging to a few of his fellow post-party friends to actually take notice of her. Which suited her just fine, because she wasn't in the mood to be delayed in her task by a couple of idiots; as she had already had her fill earlier with having to deal with her sister's fiancee.

Dropping by the _NORA_ cafe was next on her agenda, but first there was one other place on the way she wanted to check. Granted, Lightning highly doubted she'd find who she was looking for, but since it was on the way to the bar it wouldn't hurt to at least check, right?

It took a good 15 minute brisk walk down the road which mirrored New Bodhum's more.. rugged section of coastline— which was riddled with small cliffs and ridges that served as shelter for a smaller and more docile sub-species of Spiceacillian— before it spread out into the main beach area that led towards the recently renovated wharf.

By now the sun was just starting to make it's descent, but it didn't deter the usual masses from flocking to the sandy shore. There were a few locals out, people she had personally grown up around back when the old Bodhum still existed on Cocoon, who had taken it upon themselves to start over and rebuild their home on Pulse— more still were just tourists who had been slowly trickling down to experience the pulsian wilderness first-hand. They all had been warned, even taught since childbirth that this place was hell, but many brave souls who had dared ventured into the unknown... had found it pleasant, despite the obvious dangers that loomed all around them. However, many would willingly risk dealing with a few monsters here and there, instead of dealing with the turmoil that was brewing back on Cocoon.

Still, that was the farthest thing from her mind right now, even if she had absentmindedly stopped to enjoy the sunset for a brief moment. There had always been something about the ocean during the afternoon hours she had loved since she had been younger, and it was now hitting her that it had been quite a long time since she had last taken time to enjoy the view— with the last time ironically being the time she had first encountered a certain pair of pulsian sisters.

**XXXXX A Year Earlier XXXXX**

"I don't know about this.." A slightly perturbed Lightning mumbled under her breath, as her younger sister gave her arm another gentle tug.

"Claire, come on! It'll be fun, I promise. Besides, when's the last time you had a little fun on a day off?" Serah asked, genuinely curious about that fact. Though her curiosity didn't deter her from giving Lightning's arm another tug, and more or less dragging her sister along the path leading down to the beach.

"I can't say I've ever had _fun_ on a day off." And why would she anyway? A day off tended to be rare as of late, and whenever she was graciously given one she had spent it relaxing at home. "—Are you sure you can't find someone else?"

"No! You have to come! It wouldn't be the same without you, sis. Everyone really wants you to be there too!" Serah looked up at Lightning while saying this, just in time to see the older Farron sigh in defeat.

It hadn't even been a full day since she'd been told that Snow had proposed to Serah, and now Lightning found herself being dragged out by her sister to play some volleyball. In truth, the soldier really didn't enjoy the game that much, but damn if she wasn't actually _really_ good at it— and if it made the younger Farron happy, then it was worth it.

It didn't take them long to meet up with the whole of Team NORA, and after several minutes of catching up along with Lebreau teasingly reminding Snow to _actually_ share the ball, they split into teams. Snow, Serah, Maqui on one side, and Lightning, Lebreau, and Gadot on the other— with Yuj as the self-proclaimed referee.

It wasn't hard to tell how competitive Lightning was getting as they played through a few games. More often than not, she was determined to keep the score tied. Like hell she was going to let her sister's new fiance show her up, especially in front of all their friends.

When it came down to her turn to serve, the roseate would smirk to herself right before serving the ball. Her initial plan was to hit Snow smack-dab in the face, but with the sheer force of her wrist the ball went speeding over his head and right into the back of a tall tanned woman's head instead about a couple dozen feet away.

"—The hell was that for?" The stranger yelled, while turning on her heels away from her titian haired companion to stare at the motley crew. Glancing down she'd notice the ball idly resting at her feet, and would pick it up before walking towards the group of cocoonians.

Fang stopped a foot or so away, while glancing from Snow and Serah, to Lightning, to Lebreau and Maqui with a serious but rather curious look on her face. "So, which one of you hit me with this ball?"

All eyes were on Lightning now.

Feeling singled out, all she could do was sigh under her breath and take a step forward. "It was my fault. I got a.. little too into the game. I'm sorry."

Slowly pushing up the sunglasses on her face to rest on the top of her head, the pulsian couldn't help but look Lightning over with a rapidly forming grin appearing on her face.

"It's no big deal, don't worry about it. I'm willin' to let it slide if you play a lil one on one with me."

"_You're on_." Lightning rather eagerly, and quickly at that, jumped at the opportunity to play against this woman. She seemed confident of herself, if not a bit cocky, and that was something the soldier could appreciate. Well, anything was better than dealing with Snow boasting about how good of a player he was.

Both women walked back to the court, as Serah looked over and saw the smaller girl, who'd been hanging around Lightning's new rival, hovering nearby looking a bit lost. She felt a bit out of place, but Serah really couldn't point her finger on exactly why that was. Figuring it didn't matter, and wouldn't be a big deal, she called out towards the girl.

"You can come over too, you don't have to worry about it!"

Perking up, the younger pulsian skipped over excitedly. "Oh, no that's not it!" Vanille giggled, while casting a glance towards Fang and the roseate who were fiercely battling it out.

"I've just never seen her look so serious about a game before! She rarely warms up to a cocoonian like this."

Serah raised a brow, the wheels in her head turning until she finally realized what had been bothering her. She wasn't necessarily concerned by the fact though, and followed the girl's gaze towards her sister.

"Yeah, I think you're right. Lightning actually looks like she's enjoying herself now!"

The two of them just grinned at each other, and idly chatted away for awhile. To say they hit it off was an understatement, and Serah was pleased she'd made such a sweet friend as Vanille. They spent the whole time giggling and swapping tales, trying to one-up the other with stories of how stubborn and competitive their sisters were.

Eventually the festivities of the afternoon calmed down enough, and the lot of them got caught up in lounging around on the beach— just enjoying the rest of the day for what it was worth, along with the pulse sunset dipping low in the sky.

"I gotta say, it was nice meetin' all of you. It's rare to find people who are so open to our kind." As she said this, Fang gave them all a little appreciative nod in thanks while finishing off her bottle of water. Standing up then, and dusting off the sand still clinging to her shorts, the older pulsian grinned at Lightning. "—And you! I'd love to get a rematch sometime if you're up for i—"

"Yeah, it was fun you guys!" Vanille chipped in, cutting Fang off while seemingly still a bit hyper from the prospect of making so many new friends.

Fang just shook her head, obviously amused. "Hopefully we'll see you guys around. Until then though, see ya!" She gave a little salute with a hand to the whole of team NORA and Lightning, then turned around and started the long walk home. Vanille barely managed to run up and give Serah a quick big hug, before running off into the distance after Fang.

"You know, I hope we do see them again sometime soon." Serah said with a smile, while turning and giving her sister a playful nudge. "Plus it might do you good to have a friend like that."

Lightning just rolled her eyes, but did manage a small smile— until a realization slowly dawned on her.

"—_Shit_.. I forgot to get her name."

"Oh, don't worry about that!" The younger Farron chirped up, holding up her phone so that her sister could see the information displayed across the screen. "I managed to get their information from Vanille." Shoving the cell back into her phone, Serah then looked back up at Lightning with a smirk. "Her name is Fang, by the way."

"Fang, huh?" There's a pause as the soldier commits that name to memory, on the off-chance she ever saw her again. "I'll remember that."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

An icy cold gust of wind slapped Lightning hard in the face, pulling her out of her dream-like state. Blinking a few times, it took the soldier a minute or two to remember exactly where she was and why she was there to begin with. Sighing, she idly ran a few fingers through her wind-tussled hair to fix it, while using her free hand to pull out her phone to check the time.

It had gotten late, and if she knew the pulsian as well as she thought she did.. Well, then there was no real use in looking through town for her anymore. There was only one place she could be now.

Lightning set off in the opposite direction of her previous destination, setting a brisk walk down the road. It didn't take that long, maybe 10 minutes or so, before she could see the familiar dirt path off the main road that led to the outskirts of town— and more importantly Fang's home.

Lightning picked up the pace when the building came into view, but once she hit the front steps she hesitated. There was no guarantee Fang would talk to her, much less let her in after earlier. But she had to at least try, right?

Instead of outright knocking though, she peered into the nearby window. It was dark, save for a single light on in the kitchen it seemed. There was no movement inside she could see though, but from what she knew of Fang the woman wouldn't just leave a light on if she wasn't home.

Straightening up, and steeling her resolve to see this through in the process, she inhaled slowly and knocked on the front door.

At first there's nothing. No movements, no sounds, nothing the soldier could hear to indicate anyone was even home. She stood there for a few minutes, but they felt like they dragged on for an eternity. It started getting to a point where Lightning felt like this was pointless, and was in the middle of turning around and going home when a faint _click_ could be heard from the door.

Spinning back around, azure eyes met emerald as Fang opened the door wide to stare outside at the woman standing on her porch.

There was a long awkward stretch of silence as they stared the other down. The pulsian was unsure of how to feel about her 'friend's' sudden appearance, especially so late. At the very least the woman had no clear signs of being intoxicated this time around.

Still, she had come for a reason. Fang slowly raised a thing brow at the roseate wondering what she wanted, while rubbing the side of her damp messy hair with a towel— clearly just having gotten out of the shower and dressed before being interrupted.

Lightning didn't relent in her hard staring. Not that she meant to do it of course, but she couldn't help it nor the fact she'd gone rigid the moment Fang had appeared. Her gaze wandered to the fresh bandages covering the pulsians eye, and guilt started eating away at her from the inside. It was now or never, if she planned on mending whatever was left of their friendship.

Clearing her throat, Lightning gave Fang a serious look and finally spoke up.

"—We need to talk."


	9. Chapter 9

At the mention of needing to talk, Fang simply continued to stare Lightning down. Lightning's gaze was fierce, not faltering which was typical of the woman; azure eyes not wavering from that solitary emerald orb staring at her in return. The silence around the pair was almost deafening while Fang chewed over the thought of letting her in or not.

"Give me one good reason why I should do that?" Fang finally broke the silence suffocating them. Hesitation was strong in her stern voice as she spoke, not wishing to have another go round with Lightning anytime soon. After the earlier fight, the huntress had already had enough.

Holding her tongue, Lightning didn't speak at first. She allowed the silence to engulf them once more as she pondered over what she could possibly say that would persuade Fang to allow her entrance to her residence.

Thinking back on earlier when they'd gotten into that argument at her younger sister's home, there was one thing that did ring true from what Fang had said before. She hadn't apologized, or at least not correctly. Now that there had been time to think and cool down on her part, the soldier realized she had been in the wrong.

"I'm... sorry." Lightning apologized in a quiet voice, though the words didn't come easy for her. Still, an honesty rang true though her tone.

Taken aback by this sudden apology, Fang could simply do nothing but stare at the roseate. Steeling herself but remaining silent for the moment, Fang took a second and mopped up more of the water that clung to her chocolate locks from her shower.

"I should have apologized sooner." Lightning added after a brief pause, sincerity dripping in her tone before a tiny sigh escaped the confines of her chest.

Reluctantly, Fang marginally propped the door open before finally giving it a full swing, allowing Lightning entrance with a short wave of her hand. She then headed for the kitchen. "Come in and make yourself comfortable then." She instructed.

The soldier entered the familiar space, shutting the door behind herself with a light click as it met the wooden frame once more.

"Care for a drink?" Fang questioned while reappearing in the walkway leading into the kitchen from the living-room, grasping a bottle of beer in her hand while casually looking over to Lightning.

"Water is fine." The other woman answered, hovering near the front door still. She wasn't sure if she should follow through with what she'd come over to do, as every instinct within herself told her to remain distant; it was what she had grown accustomed to over the years.

Fang turned back around and grabbed a fresh bottle of water from the fridge, after setting down the damp towel upon one of the vacant counter tops in the kitchen.

Willing herself the ability to move, Lightning finally strolled through the home and took a seat on the sofa, awaiting Fang to join her. It didn't take long and when Fang outstretched an arm, offering the water bottle, Lightning accepted it. "Thanks." She popped the top slowly, taking a generous swig as her mouth had oddly dried from the awkward atmosphere surrounding them.

Fang pressed her back into the sofa, trying to find as much comfort in the cushioning as she possibly could. Unscrewing the top off her beer, she brought the bubbly substance to her lips, taking a small sip and avoiding looking in Lightning's direction for as long as she could. That would be short lived though.

Lightning soon faced Fang, examining the bandages that were wrapped upon her face, shielding her damaged eye. Guilt washed over her, knowing it was her who had done this to the huntress.

"...Can I see it?" Lightning suddenly asked out of the blue, receiving a bewildered look from Fang. "Your eye, I mean." She simply stated, placing her water bottle down on the table beside the couch.

Almost hesitant, Fang wondered why the strawberry haired woman had to even look at it. It wasn't like Lightning had never seen a black eye before; Snow alone could be a testament to that.

Placing her beer down on the coffee table that sat neatly in front of the couch, Fang turned slightly to face Lightning, her body situated in a way that the other woman could easily see it. Moving her hand up to reach for the bandages, she was taken back yet again when Lightning reached out and halted her movements.

"Let me." Lightning insisted, her tone strong and voice lowering an octave.

Fang retracted her hand from her face, allowing it to limply fall to her side after the other woman had released it from her hold. Inhaling sharply, the huntress let out a slow sigh.

Reaching towards the bandages, Lightning's hand hovered over them momentarily, uncertain if this was the right course of action. Still, she needed to see the damage she had really done; _needed_ to confirm it with her own eyes. Once her fingertips found the edge of the bandages, she carefully pried them away from Fang's face, uncovering the deep bruise that was left in the wake of her punching the other woman. It was violet in color against olive skin, noticeable to anyone who would have laid eyes on it.

"I'm so sorry, Fang.." She muttered softly, her fingertips very lightly trailing against bronzed but damaged skin. She noticed the huntress wince under her touch and hastily removed her fingers from the other woman's face.

"It's not so bad." Fang breathed out, though the faint touch of Lightning's finger pads had set the sore spot practically on fire. "I've had much worse." She added, a brief chuckle exiting her tinted lips.

"Do you have any ice packs?" Lightning asked, the guilt eating away at her more the longer she stared at Fang's blackened eye. She knew she couldn't fix what she'd done, but at the very least she could help ease the pain even if for a little while.

"Somewhere in the freezer, yeah." Fang replied, inwardly knowing there would be a few laying around, simply because she'd put them up to get cold after being fussed at much earlier in the day by Vanille for not taking care of herself properly.

Lightning moved off the couch, crossed into the kitchen and propped open the freezer. A gloved hand moved inwards, the frost of the freezer biting her fingertips as she moved items around, searching desperately for an ice pack. Luckily, she found and retrieved one, tugging it out of its hiding place and then shut the freezer door.

Walking back over to the pulsian, Lightning took a plop down on the couch, bringing her free hand to Fang's chin, moving her head so that she faced her once more. Taking the ice pack, she gingerly placed it against part of the bruised skin, hoping Fang would find some relief in the coolness of the pack.

"You know.. Vanille told me something that made a lot of sense after you stormed off back there." Lightning piped up, still administering the ice pack to Fang's face.

"Hm?" Fang gave her a confused look, wondering what Vanille could have _possibly_ said that made sense to Lightning of all people?

"Well—" Lightning began, clearing her throat gently. "—I always wondered why Amodar kept giving me time off. I knew I was running myself into the ground but that's the job I took, so naturally, it came with it." The older Farron sister continued, "I would show up and be turned away without an explanation except for the simple fact that apparently my shift had been covered." She was rambling slightly, filling the silence with her voice which was strong but also softer than it had been previously.

Fang swallowed hard listening to Lightning go on, vaguely knowing where this might possibly be going. "..Yeah?"

"If it wasn't for someone else covering my shift, I would have even missed my little sister's wedding." She finally stated, glancing at Fang briefly to see if anything sparked in her eyes.

Fang remained silent, not wanting to out herself if it wasn't needed, but inwardly feeling Lightning really did know the truth now.

"...Why didn't you just tell me?" Lightning finally asked. "Vanille was telling the truth, wasn't she? That you were taking my shifts?" Halting momentarily, the ice pack lingered near Fang's face yet didn't touch her skin as the soldier simply stared her companion down.

Emerald orbs tore from beryl, Fang now staring off into the open space of the room. A nervousness flooded her bones and she kept her gaze away, despite feeling Lightning's own intense gaze on her. "I just wanted you to have a break, yeah?" She finally piped up, her gaze falling back to Lightning's. "Besides, I wouldn't have wanted you to miss Lil Farron's big day."

"You could have told me though." The pinkette responded, simply pressing the ice pack into the bruise once more.

Silence washed over the pair again, engulfing every inch of the room with them in it. It wasn't nearly as awkward as the other silences had been, but Fang found herself swept away in her thoughts. For a moment, everything felt surreal, as though she were dreaming. Lightning apologizing, sitting on the sofa next to her tending to her bruise, confronting her about the extra shifts she had taken.

Fang was snapped back into reality when she felt the chill of the pack press up against her cheek bone again. Her gaze fell upon Lightning's face, jade orbs tracing every inch of porcelain skin as the soldier seemed so concentrated and so determined, much like she always was. That was when Fang noticed the faintest twitch of Lightning's lips as they marginally curved upwards.

"What?" Fang wondered out loud, confused as to why Lightning could be smiling.

"This just reminds me of something." The pinkette explained, though vague. She paused, continuing to press the ice pack upon the pulsian's face in various places of the bruise. "When I was first training for the Guardian Corps, I was nowhere near as skilled as some of the other trainees." She continued, allowing herself to open up for the moment. "I failed an exercise. So, in punishment, I had to fight one-on-one with one of the officers."

Each touch she administered of the ice pack was short and brief, gentle and tender so as not to cause Fang any pain. "Obviously, I got my ass handed to me." A small chuckle fell from her lips, it was short lived though her lips remained in an upward fashion.

"Is that right?" Fang asked, allowing her own lips to edge upwards into a tiny grin. Never in a million years did she ever think she'd hear _the_ Lightning Farron admitting she'd had her ass handed to her by someone.

"Mhm." Lightning nodded slightly, looking a bit amused at her own story, despite never having told anyone about it before now. "Serah had to help me ice a massive bruise." It was much like the moment they were sharing as she recalled the memory, though she didn't feel the need to mention just how similar the situations had truly been.

"Sounds like they really did a number on you." Fang responded, enjoying the fact that Lightning had let her in on her personal memory.

"Yeah." Lightning then pressed the ice pack more firmly into the woman's face to the section which was deeply bruised. "I did a lot of stupid things back then." She revealed, her eyes not shying from Fang's face in the slightest, and that free hand still cupping Fang's chin gently but firm. "..I guess I haven't really learned because I still am."

Now that she'd administered the ice pack for a while, she gently pulled it away from Fang's face, her hand still resting on Fang's chin, the soldier not retracting herself just yet. Eyebrows knitted together gently as she examined the area, studying each section intensely.

Fang's eyes linked with Lightning's and she found herself almost breathless as she could see each swirl behind azure hues; every color she'd never seen before that resided within them. It caused her throat to dry, her mouth and lips too. She got lost in the sight, unable to pry herself away. She wished she could have gazed in them forever, as she found just how endless they really seemed. A lump lodged itself in her throat and she had to snap herself out of it, swallowing it quickly and try not to concentrate too hard on the beauty that was swirling in the older Farron's deep blue eyes.

Giving the bruise one last glance, Lightning's eyes fell over to Fang's. "Does it feel any better?"

Fang retained her silence, a warmth flourishing within her core at just how close they really were. She watched as Lightning moved away finally, her fingertips leaving a chill in their wake as they finally were removed from Fang's chin. The soldier then handed her the ice pack and Fang accepted it, still stunned.

"I should probably head home. I've—" Lightning paused. "—_We've_ got work to do in the morning." Rising from her seated position on the sofa, Lightning crossed the home and headed towards the door. Halting, she cast a glance at Fang over her shoulder. "You should probably keep it iced a little longer. It'll help." She instructed.

Fang let out a faint chuckle, almost nervous even after having just shared a rare moment with the roseate. "Can't say I'll remember, Sunshine, but I'll try."

To this, Lightning rolled her eyes and twisted the knob on the door, pulling it open and finally taking her leave.

As Fang watched her leave, she amounted enough courage to rise suddenly from the couch herself to hurriedly reach the door after it had shut. She swung it open, "Light, wait." She prompted the other woman to stop. To this, Lightning spun and faced Fang once again, the brunette noticing the confusion riddling the other woman's face.

Now that she'd stopped the soldier from leaving just yet, she was at a loss for words momentarily and had to collect herself, though she failed miserably. "Uh... I just wanted to ask you... You see, there's this new coffee shop in town— just opened, or so I hear. So, I was wonderin', if maybe you'd like to grab a drink after work?" She silently scolded herself for being awkward. It was just Lightning, wasn't it?

Initially, Lightning was stunned by the offer. Still, she managed to simply nod her head, strawberry locks flowing with the movement. "I'd like that." She responded. The guilt of punching Fang, along with the fear that her apology wouldn't have been accepted was beginning to dissipate, leaving the roseate feeling a little more at ease.

"Alright. I look forward to it then." Fang offered Lightning one last grin before she watched the other woman finally leave.

Spinning on her heel, she went back inside, shutting the door before pressing her back upon the wooden surface. What had just happened? She was still struck in awe, contemplating if she were actually dreaming. Bringing the ice pack to her face, Fang pressed it into her bruise, the dull pain reminded her that she was in fact not dreaming.

Still, she couldn't help a giddy smile from forming on her lips, painting her face with delight. Despite what all had happened, she was glad she'd stormed out of Serah's house previously, glad that Lightning had come around and visited her in the aftermath.

But Etro be damned, she was going to let Vanille have it for ratting her out.


	10. Chapter 10

Despite managing to fall into a deep slumber, the night truly hadn't been kind to the huntress. Her dreams had been filled with many things, fragments of the last several days mixed in with internally repressed desires— most of which involved a _certain_ rose-haired soldier.

The dreams themselves had been pleasant at the very least; images of her arms wrapped around Lightning, holding her close as they dozed off on the couch together, or thoughts of what their little coffee date might be like still fresh in her mind as Fang slowly stirred awake. Emerald orbs slowly cracked open, the sleep riddling her eyes being blinked away as a hand lazily came up to shield her face from the harsh morning rays pouring in from the window.

Fang wanted to groan in frustration, honestly not wanting to get up and instead roll over onto her side to resume sleeping. She knew better than that though, work wasn't going to do itself. With a soft sigh the pulsian dragged herself up into a sitting position, and swung her legs over the side of the bed so bare feet could land on the floor with a faint _thud_.

She took a moment to stretch out her arms over her head, rolling her shoulders a bit to release a bit of tension before standing up and slowly walking over to the mirror on the far wall.

For a long hard moment, the huntress just stared back at her reflection. Her gaze focused solely on her still swollen eye. Granted, the swelling had gone done enough to be noticeable, but still the skin around it was still puffy and discolored.

Gingerly, fingertips grazed bruised flesh, emerald orbs raking in the sight of the bruise still apparent on her olive tinted skin. While touching the area didn't cause her to wince or flinch like it had before, it still looked as nasty as it had the first day it appeared. Fang could tell some of the deeper bruising was beginning to heal but she'd still need to cover it up for the day to avoid unwanted looks.

Fang took a few minutes to fetch a fresh bandage, before wrapping it around and applying it to the area. She pressed it firmly onto her face, a solitary jade hue watching intently as she pressed her fingertips into the bandage so that it would stay stuck to her skin as she finished up.

Looking herself over once more, Fang stood up straight, proud with how she appeared, and deciding it was probably time to finally get finished getting ready and head out.

It didn't take her long to pull on a fresh pair of pants and a random tank-top, seeing as how it really didn't matter since she'd be changing into her uniform at work. Still, that wasn't enough to stop Fang from wrapping her favorite sari around her form, as she always felt a bit weird not having it on.

Another glance in the mirror, and she ran a few fingers into her unkempt mane of hair, pushing it back into it's normal state. With that done, the pulsian gathered up her spear and walked out of her bedroom, down the hall towards the front door.

Closing it behind herself, Fang headed for the city, ready to take on another job at the Guardian Corps. Running a hand through her long mane, the brunette couldn't pull herself away from her stirring thoughts though. Like the way Lightning had been sincere in her apology, the fact that she shared that story with her, even agreed to have coffee with her on top of that.

Fang smiled to herself, lips etching upwards from the thought that it all had _really _happened. Inhaling slowly, she ruminated on it further, remembering the soldier's gentleness. It was a different side to the soldier than she'd seen before, but definitely one she wouldn't mind getting to see again... if she was lucky that is.

Finally making her way into the headquarters, she was snapped out from her thoughts when a few of the newer recruits offered her a wave. Flashing them a grin, she returned the gesture, a broader smile filling her face and even a slight bounce in her step. It was nice to be well known in the city, nice to be recognized with a friendly wave despite the fact she wasn't a cocoonian.

Before she could head into the locker room though, a voice caught her attention causing her to cast a glance over her shoulder at the woman rushing towards her with purpose.

"Hey, Fang!" The young blonde woman called out to her again, and Fang spun around to face her pursuer. It didn't take her that long however to realize this woman looked familiar, and after another few moments it occurred to her that she'd seen this person at the party at Snow's a few days prior. "Oh, hey," Fang halted in her tracks, and gave the other woman a small smile. "Anne, right?"

Anne nodded her head swiftly, grinning since Fang of all people had actually remembered her name. To someone still in training, it was practically a big deal, an honor even. "Yeah, I'm glad you remember!" Her voice was somewhat enthusiastic, before a realization set in as she remembered exactly why she'd approached Fang to begin with. "Amodar was looking for you."

"Oh?" Fang raised a brow hearing that, not having expected to be called upon by her commanding officer so soon. But before she could question the blonde over if she knew what it was about or not, Anne abruptly cut her off. "He said as soon as you can, so you better hurry!"

The huntress simply gave a small nod in understanding. "Alright, I'll be there right away." She promised, though still internally wondering what could possibly be so important. With that though, she waved the younger woman off and entered the familiar locker room. Fang was used to receiving extra work from Amodar time to time and figured that this had to be the reason he was asking for her already.

Crossing the room to her locker, Fang propped it open and began to change into her attire. Slipping out of her sari, she pulled the button down shirt over her head, fastening it to her body. Pulling on a pair of black pants, the buttoned them before sitting down and unstrapping her shoes. Tugging on some socks, she pulled on her combat boots, lacing them up quickly with a firm tug. Collecting her shoulder armor, Fang strapped it to her body, shutting the locker door firmly afterwards. She gave herself a one over in one of the mirrors near the sinks and decided she was ready for the work day.

Taking her leave from the locker room, she quickly jogged through the headquarters, coming upon the familiar door to Amodar's office. Slight confusion ran through her mind as she entered, only becoming more confused when she noticed Lightning flipping furiously through a file.

Intense azure orbs didn't take notice of the pulsian entering, Lightning's face full of concentration as she flipped through page after page; as if she were desperately searching for_ something_. Her brow was furrowed as she continued flipping through the pages, annoyance clearly written all over her face.

Fang watched for a minute or two before finally clearing her throat, making her presence known to the other woman who still hadn't noticed her. Crossing the short room, she took a plop into a chair in front of Amodar's desk, her gaze never leaving the soldier. "Heya, Light." She greeted warmly, even offering the roseate a small smile. "Where's Amodar?"

Lightning simply shrugged, all her focus on the file in her hand as she made no move to stop searching through it to look up at Fang.

"I thought it was just me he wanted to see." Fang said out loud, though mostly to herself as she was still a bit confused as to why she had been summoned, not to mention wondering over the reason Lightning was there as well.

Finally, Lightning's gaze rose from the folder she'd been flipping through. Without much of a warning the file was dropped into Fang's lap, as Lightning managed a sigh. "He'll be right back." The soldier informed her companion. "We're here because of _this_."

Fang cocked her head in a curiously fashion at Lightning, before glancing down at the vanilla folder that had been dropped on her lap. Popping open the folder, Fang began flipping through the information inside and skimming the detailed pages to see just what the other woman had been so focused on.

The file itself had been regarding an incident involving Lightning and some thugs from a few days prior, or so it seemed anyway.

"I don't think I've ever heard about this.." The brunette honestly stated, eyes still skimming the report for more details. "Why would we be workin' on a case that's already closed though?"

"The gang mentioned in the case, a few of the members managed to escape that fight. Apparently, they're hiding out somewhere outside of town and we're the ones who are supposed to be cleaning up the mess." Lightning explained, obviously not too happy to be dealing with the same garbage a second time.

"Of course it would have to be today of all days." Fang grumbled while tossing the folder onto Amodar's desk, and then let out a small sigh over. Of course the one day in her life Lightning had agreed to go out with her, something like this would happen.

"It's part of the job." Lightning reminded the other, as she'd inwardly already accepted there was no way around not doing this. "So just deal with it."

Fang let out a distinctive groan of frustration, and leaned back into the confines of the chair.

A moment later, Amodar finally returned to his office, swinging the door shut before waving a new file around towards the two women. "You'll both need this." He handed the folder over to Lightning after looking both women over.

The roseate began to flip slowly through the file, taking in the photos and the notes gathered on the thugs and their current whereabouts.

"Some of our men had followed the thugs to this abandoned warehouse on the west end outside of the city." He began, walking over to his desk and taking a plop in the chair behind it. "Now, I wouldn't ask either of you to do this alone. It seems there's a major player hiding out there too; a kingpin." A ring leader of the band of thugs, someone Amodar had been wanting taken care of for a while. "There's only one way we can do this and that's fast and quiet. Which is why I'm sending two of my best to take on the job." Amodar continued, giving both women a nod of acknowledgement.

Lightning had seen enough of the file by now and gently handed it over to Fang. She then turned her gaze to Amodar as he explained the situation, and paid attention to every word he spoke.

Fang glanced through the photos, one sporting the old building that had seemed run down for years. A few other photos revealed a couple of the more important men's faces, descriptions given for the few wanted thugs and why they were being sought after. Flipping the pages, she took in as much of the information as she possibly could while more or less listening as well.

"We suspect there's about a dozen men, give or take. We also suspect there's tamed monsters on the premises." Clearing his throat, he leaned back in his chair more comfortably. "It'll just be the two of you out there today. I can't risk sending a bigger force and alerting the gang right away."

Both women glanced at each other, emerald orbs meeting azure briefly before they both offered Amodar a nod, almost in unison. They had done missions together before and succeeded, so this wouldn't be any different.

"Now, I've got a lot of paperwork to sift through today, so you two are dismissed." Amodar said, lifting a hand to wave them off and finally allowed them to leave.

Fang rose from her seated position, and followed Lightning to the exit of the office. The hinges on the door creaked as they left Amodar to his work.

"You got a plan for this?" Fang questioned the soldier, receiving a glance in response as she fell in step with Lightning. Normally by now the infamous Farron had already decided her plan of attack.

"Fast, hard and silent. Just like Amodar wants." Lightning replied, not willing to admit that she herself also wanted to get the job one as quickly and quietly as possible.

Inhaling sharply, Fang let out a deep sigh from the depths of her chest. "Still, it's gonna be one hell of a long day.."

Lightning took another glance at the pulsian walking alongside her. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." She said, with a slightly annoyed look on her face over the situation they had found themselves in.

As both women headed down the hallway towards the armory, Fang found themselves in a comfortable silence which was almost rare for the two of them. It wasn't that she minded going out on a grueling mission, but she had to curse to Etro a thousand times over, since it had to be the day she was meant to go for coffee with Lightning after work.

Once they came upon the armory, Lightning propped the door open, allowing Fang entrance first. "We need to be tactical about this." She informed the other, entering the vast room herself after the huntress had gone in. "No guns."

"No guns. Got it" Fang echoed her companion, while walking towards the wall where some of the swords and knives hung neatly behind a closed gate.

"Chances of the thugs carrying handguns is pretty high. Maybe we should put on some armor." Lightning suggested, pacing over to Fang's side before examining the same wall Fang was peering at.

"Sounds like a plan." Fang responded, jade hues picking every sword or knife apart until she settled on one and grasped it into her hand. While she had been raised using her lance as a weapon, she was still just as skilled with a knife. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra weapon handy if needed.

After spending several minutes collecting their belongings in the armory, both women made their way out of the Guardian Corps headquarters. Fang led the way, having memorized the location of where the abandoned location was from the small map provided in the file they'd been shown. As they strolled through the streets of the city though, she glanced over at Lightning, though staring at her briefly before averting her gaze.

Lightning caught onto her gaze however, and stole a glance of Fang herself. "What is it?"

"I'm just glad you know, that we're workin' together on this." The pulsian admitted, but why she had done so she didn't know. It wasn't like this was the first time they'd been sent out on a mission together, and knowing Amodar it certainly wouldn't be the last either. But for whatever reason part of her had just wanted to let Lightning know how she felt, even if those feelings were far deeper than she could admit at this time.

"Mm.. I'd hate to admit it, but I don't think anyone else but us could get_ this_ done anyway." Lightning agreed after staying quiet for a minute, and nodding her head before catching another glimpse of the pulsian. "These guys are ruthless. I'm.." There's a brief pause as Lightning mulls over her next choice of words very carefully, while being mindful to keep her gaze averted. "..I'm glad you're the one watching my back, Fang."

Just those words alone caused a grin to appear on Fang's face, and while neither spoke more after that and continued walking quietly side by side, she felt at ease. She knew how rare it was for Lightning of all people to admit she liked being around someone, well in her own way he had anyway, but still... it felt good to know the soldier trusted her that much.

At their current pace it didn't take them long to reach the outskirts of the city, but the trek itself to the abandoned warehouse was still a ways to go. They both strolled along in silence, though thankfully not awkward, just quiet.

Fang was left to wonder what Lightning was thinking as they walked, and part of her thoughts did linger back towards several days ago when the woman had broken down in her home over her younger sister. At the same time though, she was also still bummed that the work load for the day was going to be strenuous. She didn't think after the mission they were about to embark, that it would give either of them enough energy to head for coffee afterwards they'd been planning on.

For several long minutes, that almost felt like an eternity, Fang internally fought with herself. On one hand, she really wanted to go out with Lightning, she'd been so excited and relieved on top of it that Lightning had agreed to it. But on the other hand, she had no idea what this day would hold for either of them so it wasn't exactly the best time to be thinking of having a leisurely cup of coffee.

So, after thinking it over a few more time Fang finally sighed and glanced over at Lightning. "Hey, Light?"

The soldier seemed to have been deep in her own train of thoughts, but was snapped back into reality at the sound of her friend's voice. "Hm?"

"So uh, listen... Do you think we can rain check on that coffee? Considering it's gonna, you know, be a long day and all?" Fang finally got the urge up to ask, hoping Lightning would't just shoot the offer down now, or call it off entirely. But there was no way she'd let Lightning get out of it that easily, especially since the woman had already agreed beforehand.

There was a long moment of silence then, as Lightning just stared at her, her face practically devoid of all emotions. It was this that made Fang's stomach start to sink, thinking that perhaps the soldier really was debating on calling it off.. But thankfully after several more moments Lightning's lips curved upwards in the faintest of grins.

"Sure." Lightning said, that one simple word and smile dispelling any worries Fang had and reassuring her they would indeed have their moment in the future. But for now, they had more important things to worry about and deal with.

Fang simply returned her focus to the present moment and their goal for the day, though she couldn't contain the overwhelming giddy feeling that had invaded her gut.

"I'm gonna hold you to it, Sunshine." Fang warned out of nowhere, though almost playfully.

Hearing that warning actually managed to cause the soldier to chuckle under her breath, while glancing over at Fang and giving her an amused look. "Somehow I don't doubt that."


End file.
